The grant will allow Metro Bank to open stores in the UK from the second quarter of 2010, which will provide services for both the consumer and business communities.
The first two Metro Bank outlets will open in Holborn and South Kensington within the next few months, with the company planning to build a network of more than 200 stores within the Greater London area over the next 10 years.
The banks will be open seven days a week, and will also offer online banking and a 24/7 customer call centre located in London.
The Metro Bank UK team will be led by chief executive Craig Donaldson, the former managing director of retail banking for Royal Bank of Scotland, along with managing directors Paul Marriott-Clarke, the former managing director for retail at HBOS, and Darren Schindler, the ex-chief executive of the Oak Capital Group.
Metro Bank has been co-founded by US entrepreneurs Anthony Thomson and Vernon Hill, who will both take on non-executive directors roles.
Hill was the founder of Commerce Bancorp, which now boasts $50 billion in assets and 500 offices across the East Coast of the US.
Thomson has worked in the financial industry for 27 years, and is currently the chairman of the Financial Services Forum.
Thomson said: "We know that UK banking customers are looking for a new, convenient way of banking, so we believe that by providing unparalleled service and convenience, Metro Bank will stand out from other High Street banks."
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