Bradford & Bingley loans nationalised

Earlier this week government officials confirmed that troubled lender Bradford & Bingley was to be nationalised in relation to its loan books, which stand at £50 billion, around £41 billion of which has been lent to buy to let investors. However, the savings account arm of Bradford & Bingley is being bought by the high street bank Abbey, owned by Spanish bank Santander.

Savers have been assured that their money is safe, as it is covered under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. An official from Abbey said that customers could rest assured that their money was now in safe hands, stating: “They can be certain that their hard-earned savings are with a bank they can trust.”

After announcing the nationalisation of the lender, Treasury officials stated: “Following recent turbulence in global financial markets, Bradford & Bingley has found itself under increasing pressure as investors and lenders lost confidence in its ability to carry on as an independent institution.”

The shadow chancellor, George Osborne, has stated that it is important that the nationalisation of the bank did not adversely affect taxpayers, and said that he still looking at the details. However, one industry official said that the plan did not seem to have any negative impact on taxpayers.