After the demutualization of the Bradford and Bingley Building society in December 2000, Bradford and Bingley plc came up as a bank with its headquarters located in the West Yorkshire town of Bingley. The transition also saw the building society’s members swapping their nominal shares for at least 250 shares of the bank.
However, in 2008, the bank got nationalized and split into two parts. The bank’s mortgage section remained with nationalized bank, Bradford and Bingley building plc, whereas the branch network and deposits were bought by Abbey National plc, which is owned by a Spanish bank, Grupo Santander.
Santander has also announced that Bradford and Bingley plc will be rebranded as Santander at a cost of £12 million along with their other acquisitions, Abbey National and Alliance & Leicester, by the end of 2010.
With the nationalizing of all the services, besides retail branches and saving accounts, the mortgage operations and insurance products are under public ownership as of 29 September, 2008. As a result, Bradford and Bingley stopped all lending activities and ceased to exist as an independent financial body.
Below is the list of products that Bradford and Bingley (B&B) had, when it was an independent body:
· Saving Accounts
o Regular monthly payment: These accounts gave interest every month and the money was transferred to the linked accounts.
o Instant access: This was the perfect account for those who wanted the benefits of savings and checking account.
o Saving bonds: Though they were one of the best at their time, these accounts offered great interest rates. However, they could not be accessed before one year or the term.
· Mortgages: Though the bank has stopped issuing any new mortgages to the customers, there are some exceptions for people who require extra mortgage for maintenance purposes. Customers call 0845 606 1414 for enquiries.
· Insurance:
o Motor insurance: B&B offers policies which feature regular benefits and additional benefits such as courtesy car. The policies also offer protection for 60 days when the consumer travels to EU.
o Home insurance: Available with a discount of 25% online , home insurance comes with other add-on such as ‘KeyCare’ and ‘Family Legal Protection’
Consumers should know that Bradford and Bingley, rather than being an issuer, works as a broker for insurances.
