Santander buys B
Britain is set to nationalize troubled bank Bradford & Bingley on Monday after Spanish bank Santander agreed to buy its retail deposits and branch network.
B&B would be the second British bank nationalized this year and the latest in a string of high-profile banks in Europe and the United States to fall victim to the global credit crunch.
Santander will pay about 400 million pounds ($735 million) to acquire 2.7 million Bradford & Bingley customer savings accounts containing some 21 billion pounds of deposits, a company spokesman said.
It will also take over the mortgage lender’s network of around 200 branches, the spokesman said. The B&B brand will remain for now but the accounts will transfer to Abbey, a British bank bought by Santander in 2004.
Finance minister Alistair Darling is expected to announce plans early on Monday to nationalize the remainder of Bradford & Bingley, people familiar with the matter said free credit report.com.
The Treasury led intense talks on the rescue of Britain’s 9th biggest mortgage provider over the weekend.
The government would have preferred a private-sector buyer to acquire all of B&B, but rivals appeared unwilling to take on B&B’s 41 billion pound residential mortgage portfolio amid the global credit crisis and weakening British housing market.
B&B shares tumbled to a record low on Friday and closed at 20 pence, valuing the company at less than 300 million pounds.