Lender Bradford & Bingley said demand for buy-to-let mortgages remained strong in the first quarter but arrears continued to rise, with falling house prices expected to drive up bad-debt provisions.

Shares in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac struggled Monday after a near-meltdown last week, as investors mulled a weekend plan offering a government lifeline for the US mortgage finance giants.

May 23 (Bloomberg) -- Lewis Ranieri , the mortgage bond pioneer trying to salvage a Texas bank that lost more than 90 percent of its value, is seeking $1 billion for a separate venture to buy home loans.

Shares of large U.S. banks and thrifts suffered broad declines on Monday after analysts warned that the global credit crisis will cause loan losses in the sector to mount.

July 10 (Bloomberg) -- The resignation of Robert Steel as the U.S. Treasury's top domestic finance official leaves Secretary Henry Paulson without his closest Wall Street adviser as the economy struggles to rebound and credit turmoil deepens.