Beleaguered British lender Bradford & Bingley crashed into the red in the first half of 2008, after credit crunch losses and rising bad debts.
It made pre-tax losses of £26.7m, compared with profits of £180.4m in the same period last year.
B&B said bad debt charges on its lending had jumped to £74.6m from just £5.3m last year as more borrowers struggled to keep up payments. The firm also wrote off £155m on investments hit by the continuing financial turmoil.
B&B added that it was cautious over prospects for the rest of the year as the housing market worsened.
'In the light of continuing weakness in the housing market and the wider economy, we continue to expect arrears and repossessions to increase for the remainder of the year, although we will be putting further resources into tackling the problem,' it said.
The results cap a turbulent six months for B&B, in which the lender has lost its chief executive and unsettled investors with twice-rehashed plans to strengthen its finances by raising money from shareholders.
The company, which eventually succeeded in raising £400m, said its main buy-to-let market remained strong but planned to cut back on lending until the economic environment improved.
