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Bradford & Bingley chief resigns | Bradford & Bingley chief resigns |
(30 minutes later) | |
The boss of Bradford & Bingley has quit "due to a serious cardiovascular condition", the firm has announced. | |
Chief executive Stephen Crawshaw is leaving the UK mortgage lender with immediate effect, and will be replaced by chairman Rod Kent in the short-term. | |
Mr Crawshaw's departure comes a day before a trading update. Reports say the firm will issue a profit warning. | |
The firm has been hit hard by the credit crisis and wants to raise £300m to boost its balance sheet. | |
In May, the firm said it would launch a rights issue in an attempt to help offset some of its weakening investment, having only a month earlier denied it would be seeking to raise funds. | |
The Sunday Telegraph said Bradford & Bingley was expected to say profits would "fall well below analysts' forecasts" of between £160m and £200m pre-tax. | |
And the Sunday Times reported the profit warning "is expected to be contained within the bank's rights-issue document" which is to be sent out this week. | |
WHAT IS A RIGHTS ISSUE? Companies issue extra shares to raise money They are offered to existing shareholders, usually at a discount to the current share priceShares are offered in proportion to existing holdings, so if you own 10% of the old shares you are offered 10% of the new ones Check Bradford & Bingley sharesCheck other banking shares | WHAT IS A RIGHTS ISSUE? Companies issue extra shares to raise money They are offered to existing shareholders, usually at a discount to the current share priceShares are offered in proportion to existing holdings, so if you own 10% of the old shares you are offered 10% of the new ones Check Bradford & Bingley sharesCheck other banking shares |
The firm saw its profits drop by almost half after writing down assets, including those linked to US mortgages. | |
Pre-tax profit fell to £126m in 2007 from £246.7m the year before. | Pre-tax profit fell to £126m in 2007 from £246.7m the year before. |
Bradford & Bingley, Britain's biggest buy-to-let lender, recently warned of a rise in mortgage arrears as borrowers found it harder to repay loans. | Bradford & Bingley, Britain's biggest buy-to-let lender, recently warned of a rise in mortgage arrears as borrowers found it harder to repay loans. |
Like other lenders it has been asking for bigger deposits and raising its interest charges for new products. | Like other lenders it has been asking for bigger deposits and raising its interest charges for new products. |