The challenger bank spun out of Lloyds Banking Group has entered the race to buy £16bn of Bradford & Bingley (B&B) loans, in that will be the biggest ever asset sale embarked upon by the Government. TSB is understood to have submitted a bid for the loans, which are being sold by UK Asset Resolution (UKAR), last week. It is thought that UKAR, which manages the "bad bank" assets of Northern Rock and mortgage lender B&B after they collapsed during the financial crisis, is looking to sell the loans in tranches due to the size of the portfolio. However, it will also entertain offers for the entire portfolio because that would lead to a quicker sale. Buying the loans would provide a profits boost to TSB, which was floated on the stock market by Lloyds in 2013 only to be acquired by Spanish banking group Sabadell for £1.7bn last year. It is one of a number of so-called challengers trying to break the grip on high street banking exerted by giants such as Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland.