any comments, thoughts, on this stock.

Northern Rock Bradford & Bingley raises 4.2 bln stg through mortgage book disposals UPDATE




(Recasts, adds company comment, analyst reaction, background)
LONDON (Thomson Financial) - UK mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley PLC said
it raised 4.2 bln stg through the sale of its housing association and commercial
property mortgage books, freeing it to concentrate on its key buy-to-let lending
business.
B&B said it sold the housing association portfolio to Franco-Belgian bank
Dexia for 2.2 bln stg, representing the book value of the outstanding loans,
while the commercial property book went to GE Real Estate for 2 bln stg, a
"small discount" to book value.
A B&B spokesperson stressed that disposals had been planned since April, and
were not designed to plug a gap in B&B's funding in the wake of the global
credit crunch.
"This is not a liquidity event," the spokesperson said. B&B, which like
stricken rival Northern Rock relied heavily on borrowing in the wholesale
markets to fund its lending, is seen as vulnerable to the credit squeeze, as is
fellow mortgage lender Alliance & Leicester.
The B&B spokesperson added that the bank has raised 2.5 bln stg in funding
from the markets since September. Worries over rising defaults against US
sub-prime mortgages prompted banks to largely stop lending to each other in
August.
B&B said the two mortgage books are being sold at a combined loss of 15-40
mln stg. They contributed a total of 47 mln stg to group profit last year.
In a statement, B&B chief executive Steven Crawshaw said the disposals
enable the bank "to improve returns by redirecting our capital and funding
resources to take advantage of the significant opportunities that exist in the
UK mortgage market today."
By 9.50 am, B&B shares were up 3.5 pct at 266 pence, while the FTSE 100
share index was 0.2 pct higher at 6,134 points.
Collins Stewart banks analyst Alex Potter said getting rid of the housing
association mortgage book would "enhance B&B's liquidity and reduce its
wholesale funding requirement."
"We continue to believe that B&B's funding position is the strongest of the
three small mortgage banks," Potter wrote in a note to clients.
In a statement, Dexia head of project finance Bruno Deltre said acquiring
the housing association mortgages -- taken out through not-for-profit
organisations that provide low-cost social housing -- "confirms, in many
respects, that the difficult financial markets environment is a source of
development and profitability for Dexia."

Well done on your short cynic. Should have known that you would not have detected the hint of sarcasm in my comment , after all it is the lowest form of wit ! Regards.

but the highest form of entertainment! ...... have assorted guaranteed stops, the first one cutting in 90p and the last at 115 ..... has to be 5p between each and only in lots of 3000 .... in fact, as i write the first has been stopped and am close to the next ...... may shut all and take the fat profit

closed balance at 91.2 .... could have made a further 2/3k i suppose, but am more than happy as had original target of 100

if i was frighfully brave to downright foolish, i would suggest going long here, as i have a strong suspicion that a lot of short positions are now being closed

Beware NRK may seek suspension soon like Carter and Carter.

thought about that too, but would not have affected my position as CFDs not time-sensitive ...... however, that is another reason why we may see some heavy buying this afternoon - i.e. shorters closing their positions to avoid probs

If NRK suspends itself, it would cause another queue in its branches - no doubt about that.

Do they have that many depositors left?

Any company that has interference from Politicians should be regarded as "suspended" - like a dormouse in Winter....to the casual observer it is dead!...but it might awaken, in the good times months ahead.

Frankly having been burnt by this rotter, I'm only glad I'm out.

Does anyone think a rescue will happen - will anyone risk more than (50p? ) a discount to the current sp. It's a fire-sale isn't it?

Note: I believe the business itself (ie Lending mortgages) is sound - and we are reasonably sure "savers" are OK - at least until the Government makes strange noises and there is another "run" - I suspect by Xmas they will be practically empty of funds. ( Why would anyone risk a long queue, in the cold?)
What seems unforgivable is the woeful attitude of the Directors - feathering their own(pension) nests yet having no regard for the investors, many of whom were small savers - post-floatation.
I will be posting a short-version of the Annual Report and ask the Question...
..Where was the risk I suffered spelt out for all to see?
I believe the Annual Account did not explain the risk and that PriceWaterhouseCoopers (Newcastle) had not been sufficiently diligent that they thought fit to forewarn of the impending disaster.
- - - I'll leave it to others to determine if the cost of the 1pp Auditors' Report along with the huge fees paid annually to Directors was money well spent. - -

my bank manager was very pleased with me, though he says i should have bought back at 60/65p this morning instead of waiting until it rebounded to 91!

I hear the J C Flowers bid is 35p.

press release implied "bugger all" which i read as being rather less than that

You may well be right as as far as I know there are no other bids on the table unless toothy branson puts one in.

for all that, sp has remined quite solid round present level of 86/87

Reports on Tuesday indicated that private-equity house J.C. Flowers made an offer with a "nominal" payout to shareholders. The buyout offer from the group led by an ex-Goldman Sachs banker reportedly would pay 15 billion pounds of Bank of England loans immediately, and around 10 billion pounds more by 2010, according to wire service reports.

Ho Ho Ho 85p now...NRK will be 30p by X'mas.

i am currently out, but fear that greed may force me to short again

i am currently out, but fear that greed may force me to short again

Get in, cynic...the debacle will widen and Chancellor Darling will fall into it.