Osborne prepares £16bn Bradford & Bingley sell-off

PLANS to sell £16bn of bank assets rescued from Bradford & Bingley which were rescued during the financial crisis are expected to be announced by Chancellor George Osborne.

B&B, which specialised in buy-to-let mortgages, was nationalised during the height of the crisis in 2008.

Its deposits and branches were sold to rival lender Abbey, part of Santander while its loans remained with the government.

According to Sky News, Mr Osborne is expected to announce the sale during his Budget statement on Wednesday.

However, it said the timing of the sale by auction was unclear, with the broadcaster citing sources who said the process may not conclude for many months.

The Treasury declined to comment.

Bradford & Bingley was formed in 1964 as a result of the merger of the Bradford Equitable Building Society and the Bingley Permanent Building Society, both of which were established in 1851.

In December 2000 the Society demutualised and floated on the London Stock Exchange.

However, in 2008 the company’s share price dropped to a record low and it began looking at options to secure the future of the company before regulators approved the government’s rescue plan.