Shares in Metro Bank, which had a market capitalisation of 227 million pounds ($306.6 million) at Wednesday's close, fell 16% to 110.8 pence at 0830 GMT. The bank's share price had jumped on the announcement of the takeover talks, but has halved since February 2020 as it and other mid-sized lenders struggled with low interest rates and competition. Metro Bank has been working to turn around its fortunes after a major accounting error in 2019 forced out its top bosses and led to a significant share price fall. Metro Bank, which was launched more than a decade ago to challenge Britain's incumbent high street lenders, has struggled to generate profits from a growing deposit base. But its losses narrowed in July as Britain's economy recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic, which had left smaller banks more vulnerable compared with their larger and more diverse rivals as interest rates hit record lows.