NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES, CANADA, AUSTRALIA, JAPAN OR SOUTH AFRICA

Bradford & Bingley plc

3 July 2008

Announcement by Moody's and capital raising

The Board of Bradford & Bingley (the "Group") has been informed by Moody's of its decision to downgrade inter alia the Group's senior unsecured and long-term debt ratings from A3 to Baa1 and to maintain the short-term rating at P2. In light of this downgrade, TPG has informed the Group that it intends to enforce its right to terminate the Subscription Agreement entered into on 2 June 2008 with respect to its £179 million investment in the Group. 

Bradford & Bingley announces that the Group will proceed with the capital raising announced on 2 June 2008, by way of an enlarged rights issue with net proceeds of approximately £400 million. The enlarged rights issue, which is supported by a number of the Group's largest shareholders including M&G Investment Managers, Legal & General Investment Management, Insight Investment and Standard Life Investments, will have an unchanged subscription price of 55 pence per share. The Group is also pleased to confirm that Citi and UBS will continue to underwrite the enlarged rights issue. Further details will be announced in due course.

The Group will shortly issue a supplementary prospectus and circular to shareholders. The extraordinary general meeting will also be adjourned for a short period to a later date, currently expected to be in the week of 14 July 2008. 

Executive Chairman Rod Kent commented: "Whilst we are disappointed that TPG intends to terminate its Subscription Agreement, I am pleased that Citi and UBS and our major shareholders continue to support our proposed capital issuance. Bradford & Bingley continues to be well-funded and the capital raising will reinforce our position as one of the better capitalised banks and one of the leading mortgage and savings banks in the UK."

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Goldman Sachs International is acting exclusively for Bradford & Bingley and for no one else in relation to the TPG investment and will not regard any other person (whether or not a recipient of this document) as a client in relation to the TPG investment and will not be responsible to any other person for providing the protections afforded to their respective clients nor for providing advice in connection with the TPG investment, or any other matters referred to in this document.

Citigroup Global Markets Limited, Citigroup Global Markets U.K. Equity Limited (in each case and together, "Citi") and UBS Limited ("UBS Limited" or "UBS") are acting each exclusively for Bradford & Bingley and for no one else in connection with the matters described in this announcement and will not regard any other person (whether or not a recipient of this announcement) as a client in relation to the matters described in this announcement and will not be responsible to any other person for providing the protections afforded to their respective clients nor for providing advice to any other person in relation to the contents of this announcement or any other matter referred to in this announcement. 

Citigroup Global Markets UK Equity Limited and UBS Limited may, in accordance with applicable legal and regulatory provisions, engage in transactions in relation to the nil paid rights, the fully paid rights or the ordinary shares and/or related instruments for their own account for the purpose of hedging their underwriting exposure or otherwise. Except as required by applicable law or regulation, Citigroup Global Markets UK Equity Limited and UBS Limited do not propose to make any public disclosure in relation to such transactions.

This announcement is not a prospectus but an advertisement and investors should not subscribe for any nil paid rights, fully paid rights or new shares referred to in this announcement except on the basis of the information contained in the prospectus. This announcement does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to subscribe for, the nil paid rights, the fully paid rights or the new shares being issued in connection with the rights issue, in any jurisdiction in which such offer or solicitation is unlawful.

The distribution of this announcement and/or the prospectus and/or the provisional allotment letters and/or the transfer of nil paid rights, fully paid rights and/or new ordinary shares into jurisdictions other than the United Kingdom may be restricted by law. Persons into whose possession this announcement comes should inform themselves about and observe any such restrictions. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

In particular, this announcement is not for distribution, directly or indirectly in, or into the  United States (including its territories and dependencies, any State of the United States and the District of Columbia), Australia, Canada, Japan or South Africa. This announcement does not constitute or form a part of any offer or solicitation to purchase or subscribe for securities in the United States. The nil paid rights, the fully paid rights, the new shares and the provisional allotment letters have not been, and will not be, registered under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"). The securities mentioned herein may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act. There will be no public offer of such securities in the United States.

The nil paid rights, the fully paid rights, the new ordinary shares and the provisional allotment letters have not been approved or disapproved by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, any state's securities commission in the United States or any US regulatory authority, nor have any of the foregoing authorities passed upon or endorsed the merits of the offering of the nil paid rights, the fully paid rights, the new ordinary shares and the provisional allotment letters or the accuracy or adequacy of this announcement. Any representation to the contrary is an offence. The nil paid rights, the fully paid rights, the new ordinary shares and the provisional allotment letters have not been or will not be registered under the relevant laws of any state, province or territory of Australia, Canada, Japan or South Africa and may not be offered, sold, taken up, exercised, resold, renounced, transferred or delivered, directly or indirectly, within Australia, Canada, Japan or South Africa except pursuant to an applicable exemption.

No representation or warranty, express or implied, is given by or on behalf of the Company, Citigroup Global Markets Limited, Citigroup Global Markets UK Equity Limited or UBS Limited or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, advisers or any of their respective affiliates, or any other person, as to the accuracy, fairness or sufficiency or completeness of the information or opinions or beliefs contained in this announcement (or any part hereof).

Certain information, statements, beliefs and opinions in this announcement are forward looking, which reflect the Company's or, as appropriate, the Company's directors' current expectations and projections about future events. By their nature, forward looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and assumptions could adversely affect the outcome and financial effects of the plans and events described herein. Statements contained in this document regarding past trends or activities should not be taken as a representation that such trends or activities will continue in the future. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. You should not place undue reliance on forward looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this document. No statements made herein regarding expectations of future profits or targeted levels of dividend cover are profit forecasts, and no statements made herein should be interpreted to mean that the Company's profits or earnings per share for any future period will necessarily match or exceed the historical published profits or earnings per share of the Company or any other level.

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