London - The British government Monday announced the partial nationalization of ailing mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley (B&B), the second bank this year to be taken into public ownership.

Spanish banking giant Santander is to take over the savings and deposits business of B&B, worth 20 billion pounds (36.4 billion dollars), a statement said.

The bank's volatile loans and mortgage business, worth an estimated 50 billion pounds, will be transferred into temporary public ownership. (dpa)