The British government says it is nationalizing troubled mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley. The Treasury confirmed Monday that it will be taking over the bank's 50 billion pound (US$91 billion) mortgage and loan books to preserve the country's financial stability. The Treasury will also be spending 18 billion pounds (US$33 billion) to facilitate the sale of Bradford & Bingley's retail deposit business and branch network to Spanish banking group Santander, the Associated Press reported.