Bradford & Bingley shares fell to an all-time low today as the bank revealed it has taken another
£133.8 million hit on its subprime and credit crunch-related investments.

The shares dropped 2p to 23p, at which level the former building society is valued at just £332 million. Even at that level, analysts believe the likelihood of a takeover or rescue bailout by a rival bank is dwindling.

Today saw the first decisive action by Richard Pym, the former Alliance & Leicester boss, who was parachuted in as chief executive last month after B&B had to have three attempts at raising fresh funds through a rights issue.

He announced the closure of swathes of the bank's mortgage selling and processing business resulting in at least 370 redundancies but also said he will add 70 staff to bolster collecting money from borrowers who are behind in their payments.

He said the job cuts would cost about £14 million but should result in annual savings of £15 million.

In effect, B&B mortgages will now only be available online or through independent financial advisers.

Pym also revealed that the bank has sold or written down to nothing its most toxic loans and structured debt investments.

That meant a loss of £50.8 million, writedowns of £15.3 million, a fair-value charge of £1.1 million and a transfer from the so-called available for sale reserves (in effect, another writedown) of £66.6 million.

B&B said this leaves it solely with higher-rated principal protected notes worth £434 million and credit funds of £60 million at end of August valuations.

Pym said: "We are a strongly capitalised bank now undertaking a complex transition with regrettable job losses, but we are planning to put the problems of the past behind us and have a business which is fit for purpose going forward."

B&B is now the last of the former building societies to remain independently listed on the stock market following the collapse and nationalisation of Northern Rock and the takeovers of Abbey National and Alliance & Leicester.