Well it dont look good
Taken from Bloomberg.com
B&B's Crawshaw Quits; Profit to Be Below Estimates, People Say
By Jon Menon
June 1 (Bloomberg) -- Bradford & Bingley Plc, the U.K.'s biggest mortgage lender to landlords, said Chief Executive Officer Stephen Crawshaw quit for health reasons. The company plans to tell shareholders that earnings are below analysts' estimates, according to two people familiar with the situation.
Crawshaw is stepping down immediately because of a serious cardiovascular condition, the Bingley, England- based lender said today in an e-mailed statement. Chairman Rod Kent will be executive chairman until a replacement is found, and the company will provide an update on earnings tomorrow, it said.
The Sunday Times reported earlier that the lender will say pretax profit is likely to be ``significantly'' below analysts' predictions this year at 160 million pounds ($316 million) to 200 million pounds before one-time items.
The lender in May said it planned to raise 300 million pounds through the sale of new stock to replenish depleted capital, a month after denying it needed more funding. The company has curtailed lending amid higher financing costs as house prices deteriorate.
``The markets have been anticipating a profits warning from Bradford & Bingley, so it looked inevitable,'' said Howard Wheeldon, a senior strategist at BGC Partners LP in London. ``It's a very tough time for mortgage lenders.''
Bradford & Bingley has declined 67 percent this year in London trading, the worst performance among the eight companies making up the FTSE 350 Banks Index. The rights offer, underwritten by UBS AG and Citigroup Inc., will give investors the right to buy 16 shares for every 25 they own at 82 pence apiece, the company said May 14. Since then, the stock has slumped 39 percent and closed on May 30 at 88.25 pence.
Credit Losses
The share offer comes as Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and HBOS Plc ask investors for a total of 16 billion pounds as lenders shore up their balance sheets. Financial services companies have announced writedowns and credit losses of $386.7 billion globally related to the collapse of the subprime mortgage market in the U.S., according to Bloomberg data.
Bradford & Bingley, with roots in building societies going back to 1851, in April reduced the number of home loans it offers, raised prices on mortgage products and lifted borrowers' minimum deposits. Losses on its structured-finance portfolio rose by 38 million pounds in the first quarter, the company said at the time.
Bradford & Bingley's 2007 profit dropped 48 percent to 93.2 million pounds as it wrote down investments and sold assets.
The bank has been more affected by the seizure in credit markets because it depends on capital markets for more than 50 percent of its funding. That compares with less than 30 percent for HSBC Holdings Plc which has had an increase in deposits in the first quarter and added mortgage customers. Still, Bradford & Bingley has funding into 2009, it said in April.
The bank has a core Tier 1 ratio of 9.2 percent, Crawshaw said in May. It aims to maintain this ratio, a measure of financial strength, at between 8 percent and 10 percent.
Crawshaw, 47, joined the company in 1999 from Lloyds TSB Group Plc as flotation director. He replaced Christopher Rodrigues as CEO in March 2004 after running the lending unit. Crawshaw was paid 1.1 million pounds last year, including salary and benefits.
