by Calculated Risk on 9/27/2008 06:50:00 PM

From the Telegraph: Financial crisis: Bradford & Bingley likely to be nationalised by Treasury

The biggest buy-to-let operator is on the verge of being nationalised by the Government as time runs out on attempts to find a private buyer.

B&B’s shares will be suspended when the stock market opens on Monday. By that point, the Government will either nationalise the bank or announce a deal to sell it.

[T]he deal will require public support, with many of the one million B&B mortgages left with the Treasury. As a result, taxpayers are likely to be left holding the mortgages most likely to default from the £40 billion portfolio.

From The Times: B&B and Fortis both in crisis

BELGIUM’s Fortis is this weekend poised to become the first large continental bank to fall victim to the credit crunch, as the global chaos continues with Bradford & Bingley and American savings giant Wachovia both teetering on the brink.

The Belgian central bank and the country’s regulator are paving the way for a bailout of the huge banking and insurance group, which has a £540 billion balance sheet and a market value of £12 billion.

In Britain, the fate of Bradford & Bingley will be decided today. Fren-etic talks between the Bank of England, the Financial Services Authority and the government have been taking place this weekend to save the troubled mortgage bank.
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If no buyers come forward, B&B will be nationalised and broken up. However, while the fate of B&B offers a fascinating insight into the hardship faced by financial institutions, in terms of international significance the problems faced by Fortis are far more serious.