BRADFORD & Bingley Plc, the UK's biggest mortgage lender to landlords, said Chief Executive Officer Stephen Crawshaw quit for health reasons and that it would provide more details on a capital increase today.

"We will be updating the market tomorrow (Monday) regarding our capital raising," spokeswoman Nickie Aiken said in a telephone interview with Bloomberg News yesterday.

The Sunday Times reported earlier that Chairman Rod Kent would replace Crawshaw until a replacement is found. The lender will say earnings this year are likely to be "significantly" below analyst estimates, the paper said.

The lender in May said it planned to raise 300 million pounds (US$593 million) through the sale of new stock to replenish depleted capital, a month after denying it needed more funding. The company has curtailed lending amid higher financing costs as house prices deteriorate.

Bradford & Bingley has declined 67 percent this year in London trading, the worst performance among the eight companies making up the FTSE 350 Banks Index. The rights offer, underwritten by UBS AG and Citigroup Inc, will give investors the right to buy 16 shares for every 25 they own at 82 pence apiece, the company said on May 14. Since then, the stock has slumped 39 percent and closed last Friday at 88.25 pence.

The offer comes as Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and HBOS Plc ask investors for 16 billion pounds as they boost their balance sheets.