Nov. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Bradford & Bingley Plc, the nationalized U.K. mortgage lender, said it suspended its application to have its mortgage-backed debt classified as covered bonds regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

The U.K. Treasury's guarantee of the bank's covered bonds ``will not be affected by the temporary suspension of the application,'' the Bingley, England-based lender said in a Regulatory News Service statement today.

Covered bonds are secured by loans to public sector institutions or mortgages. They differ from asset-backed securities in that the collateral backing the debt remains with the issuer, which becomes liable for the notes if the assets aren't sufficient.

Securities classified as regulated covered bonds by the FSA can be sold to a wider range of investors.

To contact the reporter on this story: Neil Unmack in London nunmack@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 11, 2008 08:18 EST