As the financial crisis rumbles on, another lender has hit the rocks. Mortgage bank Bradford & Bingley has announced its intention to shed almost 400 jobs as it closes its mortgage centre in Hertfordshire.

From The Times ::

Shares in the bank, which is grappling with a flood of buy-to-let mortgages turning sour, slumped to a new all-time low today as it also revealed it was selling off more toxic assets for a bottom-line loss of £134 million.

B&B’s mortgage processing centre in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, is to be closed with the 300 staff made redundant. A further 50 mortgage advisers in the branches are to be sacked, alongside some other sales staff.

B&B has been left reeling in the past few days by downgrades of its credit rating, leaving its standing in the money markets just one notch above “junk” status – a near impossible situation for a deposit-taking institution.