Government to ditch £15.7bn worth of Bradford and Bingley mortgage assets
The government confirmed today it has kicked off the process of selling £15.7bn worth of Bradford and Bingley mortgage assets.
The sale, which will be conducted by UK Asset Resolution Limited (UKAR), will allow Bradford and Bingley to repay money it owes to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, which will, in turn, repay a corresponding loan to the Treasury.
"As part of our plan to recover all of the cash British taxpayers injected into the banking sector during the financial crisis, we have begun the process of selling our Bradford and Bingley assets," said chancellor Philip Hammond.
"This is one of my top priorities as chancellor and that is why I approved UKAR to begin this process. I am determined to do everything I can to ensure that taxpayers get their money back."
Read more: How the UK could be sleepwalking into another financial crisis
Plans for the sale were announced in this year's Budget back in March, but June's Brexit vote put them on pause.
The sale is expected to be completed by 2017-18, and it is understood six UK banks, including Barclays, HSBC and RBS, are waiting in the wings to provide financing for the sale as needed.
Commenting on the asset sale, Andrew Tyrie, chairman of the Treasury Committee, said:
Eight years after the taxpayer bailed out Bradford and Bingley, it’s good news that the Chancellor is starting the sales programme of these assets.
The Treasury will need to work out how to extract best value in the long term for the taxpayer.
Many have been wondering what the new chancellor will do with the assets government snapped up during the financial crisis.
Earlier this month, Hammond revealed the government was pushing ahead with plans to offload its remaining stake in Lloyds Banking Group through a "trading plan" aimed at institutional investor.