The Bradford & Bingley today announced it is to make about 70 permanent staff redundant after scrapping its joint venture with American mortgage giant Alltel.

Shocked staff at the firm's Bingley town centre offices were today told that the joint project was being abandoned because it was not profitable.

Up to 100 temporary workers and IT consultants employed in the project and a number of American staff who have been based in Bingley will also be made redundant or transferred to Alltel's headquarters in Jacksonville, Florida.

Bradford & Bingley said it was writing-off £10 million it had put into the partnership and was unwilling to invest any more money.

The 600 permanent staff employed in the venture will be transferred back to the Bradford & Bingley's main operation, but about 70 are expected to lose their jobs within four months.

The job losses were revealed as the bank announced it was expecting to exceed its profit forecasts of £240 million, after securing a big increase in lending since June.

Today Steven Crawshaw, who will be taking over as Bradford & Bingley's managing director of lending in January, said the joint venture launched more than two years ago to develop and sell mortgage systems had not proved as successful as hoped.

"The market for that particular product has proved harder to crack than we and other firms had envisaged," he said.

Mr Crawshaw said the famous Bingley town centre building, which bears the Alltel logo, would now be transferred back to the Bradford &Bingley.

Sarah Winkless, PR manager of Alltel, said the break up had been a "very difficult" decision and she added: "Obviously, something like this is always a shock."

Dave Matthews, general secretary of the UBAC union, which represents Bradford & Bingley staff, said the announcement was "not all bad news". He said the Bradford & Bingley had "in many ways rescued the situation" and many employees would welcome the move back to the bank.