HM Treasury has begun the process of recovering £15.65bn from Bradford & Bingley assets for UK taxpayers.
The sale of the mortgage assets the government holds from Bradford & Bingley – bought at the height of the 2008 financial crisis – has been restarted by UK Asset Resolution Limited today.
First announced at the Budget in March 2016, the programme of sales is designed to raise enough money for Bradford & Bingley to repay the £15.65bn debt to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme and, in turn, the corresponding loan from the Treasury.
All proceeds will be used to reduce the national debt, the Treasury has said.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond said: “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.
“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.”
Following the subprime mortgage crisis in 2008 Bradford & Bingley was nationalised and split up, with its deposits and branch network sold to the Santander Group.
A consortium of the UK’s biggest banks is lined up to provide financing to support the sale of its government-owned.
The sales process is expected to conclude before the end of 2017 to 2018, subject to market conditions and ensuring value for money.
In November the government sold £13bn of Northern Rock mortgages acquired during the financial crisis to US private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management.
