£5.3bn Bradford & Bingley mortgage sale marks 'end of financial crisis legacy'

Two portfolios of mortgages will be sold to an investor group led by Barclays Bank.

The sale will raise sufficient funds for Bradford & Bingley to repay its loan from the FSCS - made at the time of nationalisation to finance the transfer of customers’ deposits to Santander UK - which will, in turn, allow the FSCS to repay its own loan from HM Treasury.

The government says today's sale will end the need for a special levy on deposit-taking banks and "marks the end of a legacy of the 2008 financial crisis".

Following today’s transaction, UKAR now owns around £14 billion worth of assets, down from £21 billion in September 2017 and from £116 billion in 2010.

The Chancellor, Philip Hammond said: "We are determined to recover the money the taxpayer invested during the financial crisis as soon as we can. The sale of these Bradford & Bingley loans is yet another significant step in putting the crisis behind us.

"The proceeds of this sale will go towards reducing our national debt and securing a brighter future for the next generation."