BRADFORD & Bingley Building Society yesterday proudly announced a 21 per cent reduction in its pre-tax profits for the first half of 1996. The B&B, which is at the forefront of the campaign by those British societies wishing to retain their traditional mutually owned status, planned the cut to £62.7 million sterling from £79.8 million in the first six months of 1995.

In March, it announced a loyalty package to reward its borrowers and savers with enhanced interest rates, which it said would cost around £1 million a week.