DEBBIE Crosbie, TSB chief executive, has hailed a “new chapter” following last year’s IT meltdown, as it returned to profit in the first half.

The bank reported a statutory profit before tax of £21.1 million in the six months to the end of June, against a £107.4m loss in the same period last year.

It comes as TSB continues to feel the financial pain of last year’s IT collapse, which cost it heavily in customer compensation and fraud losses.

An additional £36.2m cost relating to the scandal was recorded in the period, adding to a bill of £330m spent in 2018. Spanish-owned TSB, which has 151 branches in Scotland, lost a net 16,000 customers in the three months following the IT debacle.

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Ms Crosbie, who replaced Paul Pester in the wake of the meltdown, said the business has “begun a new chapter”.

The former CYBG chief operating officer defected to its rival TSB on a salary of around £1m after 20 years at Clydesdale and its parent group in May.

She said: “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.”

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Stripping out the IT costs, management profit was down 28.9 per cent to £57.6m, due to pressure on mortgage margins and tighter regulations.

Ms Crosbie added: “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 under way, 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.”