British Lender’s Assets to be Sold, Nationalized

LONDON — The troubled British mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley will be nationalized and sold off in parts, with Spanish banking giant Santander SA taking over its retail deposits and branch network, British media reported Monday. The British government is likely to take on the bank's toxic loans and fold them into Northern Rock, a mortgage lender nationalized by the British government in February. The BBC said the Treasury will then try to sell the company's 200 branches and savings business to other banks.