B&B defies Brown over cash

BRADFORD & Bingley has defied the Chancellor's push to get banks to hand over dormant deposits to worthy causes, saying it plans to book a £45m windfall from unclaimed shares as profit for the benefit of shareholders.

The bank yesterday sold 15m of its own shares still unclaimed more than three years after it demutualised. The proceeds would be held for a further nine years, in case of late claimants, but would then be 'forfeited to the company'.

The decision to book the windfall as profit comes less than two days after the Chancellor urged banks to do more to hand over the contents of dormant accounts to charities and voluntary organisations.

He has given them a nine-month deadline to show some progress. An estimated £20bn lies neglected in dormant accounts because of deaths, lost passbooks, changes of address or forgetfulness.

B&B said it has tried hard to trace the beneficiaries of the free shares, which came available when it floated in 2000. More than 100,000 people who moved house or otherwise failed to receive their entitlement have been located. But 44,5000 proved impossible to trace.

Departing B&B chief executive Christopher Rodrigues received a £394,000 boost to his pension pot last year, taking its value to £1.63m. His total pay packet was fractionally lower at £771,000. Rodrigues is leaving to head the credit-card network Visa.