Lining up a Buyer for Bradford & Bingley

The share price of “buy-to-let” mortgage specialist Bradford & Bingley has benefitted in the last two days from the ban on short-selling. However, it is being reported that the FSA is approaching potential buyers of the business in case the B&B becomes the next casualty of the credit crunch…

As you can see from the chart below [source; FT], the share price of B&B has fallen significantly in the last year, despite the recent bounce after the Lloyds takeover of HBOS.

The FSA (the UK’s financial regulator) is thought to have sounded out potential “white knights” for B&B as part of its contingency planning.

Yet another example of the potential changes in business ownership during the credit crunch that are simply redefining the landscape of the financial services market.