Bradford & Bingley, the specialist mortgage lender, led banking stocks lower on fears that it might need a rights issue if it was forced to write down the value of its £1.1bn investment portfolio or its £1.3bn holding of bank bonds. Traders noted that B&B was in a precarious position with tangible equity of just £1.1bn. B&B shares, which rose sharply on Friday due to takeover speculation, closed 9.1% lower at 204.5p. Financial Times