B&B shareholders rally support for compensation debate
by Gill Montia
Story link: B&B shareholders rally support for compensation debate
An MP has submitted an Early Day Motion (EDM) for a debate on the nationalisation of Bradford & Bingley (B&B) and its consequences for shareholders and bondholders.
The buy-to-let lender came close to collapse in September of last year, when the Government stepped in and sold its savings business and 200 branches to Spanish banking group, Santander.
At the same time, B&B’s troubled £41 billion mortgage book came into public ownership.
The Bradford & Bingley Shareholders Action Group is now rallying investors to ask MPs to support the EDM, submitted by John Thurso, the Liberal Democrat MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross.
Many of the lender’s 800,000 small private investors obtained their shares when it demutualised from building society status, in December 2000.
They saw the value of their stock fall to only 20p prior to B&B’s demise and are not expected to receive much, if anything, in the way of compensation.
The EDM will support shareholders’ attempts to gain access to further information from the Government relating to the nationalisation process.
According to reports, requests for clarification on particular issues have been ignored so far.
