在歐洲危機中盛開的小銀行

????就當歐洲焦頭爛額之際，一位意氣風發的美國企業家卻在雄心勃勃地打造一家冉冉升起的企業，所選行業恰恰是近年拖累全球經濟陷入衰退、令人避之不及的銀行業。

????這位偏向虎山行的斗士就是弗農?希爾，他在倫敦開設的Metro Bank大受歡迎，剛剛私募籌到2億美元新鮮資本，擔當融資顧問是業內資深人士梅里迪斯?惠特尼。A列表投資者包括Fidelity、Moore Capital的路易斯?貝肯、對沖基金SAC的史蒂夫?科恩以及紐約兩大房地產家族勒弗萊克斯和魯本斯。還有很多人希望投資這家可能改革英國銀行業的公司，還沒來得及出手，募集金額就已滿。

????2010年7月，希爾創建了Metro Bank，種子資本2億美元，第一批投資者很多也參與了第二輪融資。兩年后的今天，希爾正在憑借他在美國開創的模式，以驚人的速度贏得客戶。希爾曾用近30年將Commerce Bank從費城郊區一間分支機構打造成了美國東北地區一家大銀行。2008年，他把Commerce以85億美元賣給了Toronto Dominion (TD)，然后瞄準了一個相比美國、競爭弱得多的市場——138年來，沒有一家新的“大眾”銀行（英國人對零售銀行的稱呼）獲得牌照。

????幾十年來，掌控英國市場的是大約六家墨守成規的銀行，其中兩家勞合社（Lloyds）和蘇格蘭皇家銀行（Royal Bank of Scotland）已不得不接受政府救助?！芭f模式已經行不通，”希爾表示，“他們的分支機構在走下坡路。投資不足的情況已持續多年，沒有任何改進或創新的競爭壓力?！毕栒J為，目前英國銀行業處于拐點，Metro是方向所在。

????迄今為止，Metro Bank已在大倫敦區建立了12家分支機構，預計今年年底還會再開8家。希爾表示，在美國，其他銀行的分支機構每月能新增20個賬戶就算很好了，Commerce則遠遠勝出，每個月能開立約300個新賬戶。而Metro的分支機構，每月能新增750個賬戶。位于Holborn地鐵站對面的Metro Bank旗艦行已獲得2億美元存款，是美國成熟分支機構均值的四倍，而且仍在快速增長?！拔覀儚膩頉]有在Commerce的分支機構中看到過這樣快的增長，”希爾感嘆到。

????為什么Metro如此成功？對于希爾而言，這完全就是打造一個偉大的零售品牌，而這個品牌恰巧是一家銀行而已——Metro的廣告詞是“終于愛上你的銀行”，反映的正是他對提供快速的、不同尋常的客戶服務的癡迷。Metro的分行機構正在紛紛掛起描繪百年前周邊環境的懷舊大壁畫，還有神奇錢幣機（Magic Money Machines）可以在接受你的分幣后吐出一張憑證，憑此到柜臺換紙幣。歡迎攜帶寵物貓狗，提供洗手間。只需15分鐘，Metro就可以開好賬戶，向客戶發放一張借記/貸記卡。

????While Europe burns, a flamboyant American entrepreneur is building a thriving franchise in the misbegotten sector that's famously menacing the world economy: Banking.

????The proud contrarian is Vernon Hill, whose London venture, Metro Bank, is such a smash that he's just raised $200 million in fresh capital in a private placement, advised by industry veteran Meredith Whitney. The A-list of investors includes Fidelity, Moore Capital's Louis Bacon, Steve Cohen of hedge fund SAC, and two New York real estate families, the LeFraks and Reubens. Plenty of others wanted to bet on this unlikely campaign to revolutionize British banking, but couldn't get in before the coffers were full.

????Hill launched Metro Bank in July of 2010 with $200 million in seed capital, backed by many of the same investors who contributed to the second round. Two years later, Hill is winning customers at an astounding rate with the model he pioneered in the U.S., and then exported. Over almost 30 years, Hill built Commerce Bank from a single branch in suburban Philadelphia into a major player in the northeast. He sold Commerce to Toronto Dominion (TD) in 2008 for $8.5 billion, then targeted a market where the competition was far more worn and stodgy than in the U.S., and where not a single new "High Street" bank -- the Brits' expression for retail banks -- had won a license in 138 years.

????In Britain, half-a-dozen hidebound players have controlled the market for decades, including two bailed out by the government, Lloyds (LYG) and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). "The old models just don't work," says Hill. "They branches were run-down. They'd underinvested for years, and hadn't had any competitive pressure to improve or innovate." British banking, says Hill, is at an inflection point, and Metro is pointing the way.

????So far, Metro Bank has established 12 branches in Greater London, and expects to open eight more by the end of this year. Hill says that the average U.S. branch does well to open 20 new accounts a month. Commerce waxed the competition by opening around 300. Metro's branches are adding 750 per month. The flagship opposite the Holborn tube station has garnered $200 million in deposits, four times the total at the average mature American branch, and is still growing rapidly. "We'd never seen growth that fast at any of our Commerce branches," marvels Hill. (SeeFortune's September 2010 profile, Vernon Hill is the best damn banker alive (Just ask him))

????Why is Metro such a hit? For Hill, it's all about building a great retail brand that happens to be a bank -- Metro's slogan is "Love your bank at last," a reference to his obsession with super-fast, offbeat customer service. The Metro branches are spanking new, featuring giant, nostalgic murals depicting the neighborhood as it was a century ago, and Magic Money Machines that take your pence and spit out a receipt you take to the counter to exchange for pound notes. Dogs and cats are welcome, and restrooms available. Metro opens accounts and issues customers a debit and credit card, in just fifteen minutes.