The latest $800 million rights issue from UK mortgage lenders Bradford & Bingley (B&B) has not been a success, sales figures have confirmed.
According to the firm, 72% of investors did not buy stock in the 55 pence a share offer.
This means that the sale’s underwriters, who include Citigroup and UBS, are left with around $540 million of unwanted stock.
The bank had launched the rights issue in a bid to shore up its balance sheet, which has been hammered by credit crunch related losses.
B&B says in a statement that there was “no material change” in the company’s earnings outlook.
It added that its full-year forecasts remain “cautious”, due to “difficult” market conditions.
B&B’s rights issue has been markedly more successful than other share sales which have recently been launched by UK banks.
HBOS, Britain’s second largest mortgage lender, sold just 8% of its shares earlier this year.