The new CEO of TSB — currently owned by Spain’s Banco Sabadell — said on Friday TSB has “begun a new chapter” as it announced statutory profit before tax for the first half of 2019 was £21.1 million versus a loss of £107.4 million for the same period of 2018.

TSB said total customer deposits increased 2.6% to £29.8 billion in H1 2019 and reflected a successful ISA season.

New CEO Debbie Crosbie has rung the changes at TSB with the appointment of new senior executives as the bank steps up its turnaround programme following its IT meltdown last year.

TSB recently took back direct control of important parts of its IT infrastructure away from Sabis, the in-house IT provider of Banco Sabadell.

Sabadell chairman Josep Oliu said in March it is possible that TSB could be merged or sold after it completes a turnaround that could take three years.

Crosbie, formerly chief operating officer (COO) at Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank owner CYBG, recently succeeded Paul Pester, who resigned as TSB CEO after the IT meltdown.

Crosbie said: “TSB has begun a new chapter, underpinned by improving business performance and strong fundamentals. 

“We are beginning to see the benefits of our new platform for our customers, including a faster mortgage applications process and the introduction of new digital capabilities like identity verification on our mobile app.

“Since joining the business in May, I have been incredibly impressed by the commitment and passion my colleagues have to serve our customers, and I firmly believe that TSB has all the right capabilities to be the leading UK challenger bank.

“My priority, along with my new executive team, will be to renew our focus on our customers and create our three-year strategy.

“This work is well underway, and we will share full details later this year.

“These results show we’re already on our way to building on our strengths to shape TSB’s future success.”