Beleaguered buy-to-let lender Bradford & Bingley is to ask investors to vote on its third attempt to secure cash for a balance sheet boost.

Shareholders will gather in Sheffield Arena for what could be an uncomfortable meeting for the bank's board, after the two previous fundraising schemes collapsed.

The meeting to decide on whether the rights issue should go ahead also comes as B&B's battered shares remain below the price being offered to investors under the £400 million scheme.

Take-up among B&B's army of smaller private investors left from the bank's demutualisation in 2000 is expected to be hit, unless shares rally back up past the 55p "discounted" price.

This could potentially leave underwriters UBS and Citi - and six other banks drafted in to offer support - saddled with losses.
Barclays and Halifax Bank of Scotland face similar concerns over their moves to boost capital, with heavy share losses in the banking sector leaving their stock also below the price on offer to investors.

Barclays investors have only until 11am on Friday to buy-in to a £4 billion open share placing, while HBOS is also facing a Friday deadline for shareholder take-up.

B&B's rights issue has been beset with problems from the start, dealing a major blow to management credibility and adding to the bank's stock market misery.

The group, which has suffered rising arrears in its buy-to-let business and credit crunch losses, at first denied the need for any new funds.
It then made a U-turn in May, unveiling plans to raise £300 million by offering "discounted" new shares at 82p.

However, B&B was forced to cut the discounted share price further when the stock fell below this level.

And, under pressure from its underwriters after trading took a sharp turn for the worse, B&B also reduced the amount it was asking shareholders for, instead selling a 23% stake in the company to private equity firm Texas Pacific Group.

The move infuriated investors, who were then angered further when B&B dismissed an alternative funding proposal from four of its biggest shareholders and financier Clive Cowdery's Resolution outfit.

B&B refused Resolution access to its books, saying it was sticking by Texas Pacific's investment.

But plans changed again two weeks ago when Texas walked away from its £179 million investment after the lender's investment status was downgraded by a ratings agency - forcing B&B to revamp its fundraising for a third attempt.

The ratings downgrade also hit the group, by making it more expensive for B&B to raise funds in money markets.

Shareholders may be happy to have more control over the fundraising, but B&B is likely to face questions over its dismissal of the Resolution aid package.

The UK Shareholders Association (UKSA) has been pressing for an explanation of its thinking behind the move.

And there have also been questions raised over the heavy fees B&B is paying for its funding - around £55 million to raise the £400 million under the terms of the issue.

If shareholders back the fund raising at today's meeting, they will have until 11am on August 13 to register for the additional shares under the placing.