BRADFORD & Bingley, the United Kingdom's biggest lender to landlords, rose for a second day in London trading yesterday after the UK banned short selling of financial shares and two newspapers said regulators were trying to arrange a takeover.

Bradford & Bingley rose as much as 17 percent and traded up 9 percent at 30.5 pence yesterday, reducing this year's decline to 89 percent, Bloomberg News said

Britain's Financial Services Authority banned investors from taking new short positions on more than two dozen banks and financial companies last week. Politicians and some investors have blamed short sellers for the plunge in shares of Bradford & Bingley and HBOS, the UK's biggest mortgage lender before it agreed to a 12.5-billion-pound (US$23 billion) takeover by Lloyds TSB.

The Sunday Telegraph reported that the FSA had contacted three banks about buying Bradford & Bingley.

Santander and HSBC are the most obvious acquirers of Bradford & Bingley, the Financial Times said.