Britain readies Bradford & Bingley seizure

LONDON, Sept. 27 (UPI) -- The British government says it is preparing to nationalize Bradford & Bingley Bank as the search for a private sector buyer is proving fruitless.

If the troubled lender is taken over, it would mark the second time in seven months the government has made such a move, rescuing Northern Rock in February, The Times of London reported Saturday.

British Chancellor Alistair Darling Friday ordered officials to prepare to takeover Bradford & Bingley, a Treasury spokesman told the newspaper, saying, "You would expect us to have contingency plans."

A government seizure of Bradford & Bingley would mean $74 billion of assets and liabilities onto the taxpayers' balance sheet, which in turn would likely trigger a revolt from the bank's shareholders, who just injected $737 million into the business, the newspaper said.

Bradford & Bingley specializes in buy-to-let mortgages and other higher-risk lending and this week endured a series of credit rating downgrades, with shares falling to an all-time low of 36 cents Friday.