Venture of vulture

21 January 2010 By George Hay Follow @gfhay

Backing a new mortgage lender would be an odd move for the buyout group. But a startup bank may not be much harder than bottomfishing for assets among UK financials. And the rates environment means Blackstone could secure privateequity returns.

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Blackstone is considering backing a new bank that plans to launch mortgage and savings accounts in the UK, sources said.

The U.S. private equity group and fellow investors could inject 250 million pounds into Home and Savings Bank, which will be chaired by Peter Birch, a former chief executive of Abbey National.

It is uncertain whether the specific scheme will go ahead, but the team at Blackstone has been working on ways to get into the retail banking sector, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters Breakingviews.

Blackstone was involved in a $900 million injection of capital into BankUnited, a Florida bank that was acquired from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in May 2009. John Kanas, the former chief executive of North Fork bank, was appointed chief executive of the new bank.

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