LONDON (Bloomberg) — Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling appointed James Crosby, a former chief executive officer of Britain's biggest mortgage lender, to study ways to improve the market for home loans.

Crosby, who led HBOS Plc until 2006, will head a panel of bankers, regulators, central bankers and government officials, Darling said in an interview on BBC Radio 4. The panel will report by the time of the pre-budget, due in the fourth quarter.

The study is part of the Treasury's effort to limit the impact of a global surge in credit costs that prompted lenders including Abbey and Nationwide Building Society to withdraw mortgage offers from the market. Darling said policy makers are considering how to pump more money into the banking system.