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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Northern Rock makes £1.4bn loss | Northern Rock makes £1.4bn loss |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| Northern Rock has confirmed it made a loss of £1.4bn in 2008. | Northern Rock has confirmed it made a loss of £1.4bn in 2008. |
| The bank also said it was ahead of target in repaying the £26.9bn loan from the government, having reduced the amount it owed by £18bn to £8.9bn. | The bank also said it was ahead of target in repaying the £26.9bn loan from the government, having reduced the amount it owed by £18bn to £8.9bn. |
| It also confirmed its plans to support government policy to increase mortgage lending, saying it would offer £14bn of new lending over the next two years. | |
| "Northern Rock has made good progress against the business plan objectives laid out in March 2008," it said. | "Northern Rock has made good progress against the business plan objectives laid out in March 2008," it said. |
| 'Responsible lending' | |
| The move to increase lending - which was announced last month - marked a U-turn in Northern Rock's lending policy. | |
| Since being nationalised in February 2008, the bank has sought to reduce its mortgage book - a policy which it says has helped it make good headway in repaying the government loan. | |
| New mortgage lending at the bank was about £2.9bn in 2008, compared with £29.5bn in 2007. | |
| However, following consultations with the government, the bank will now increase its lending. | |
| "We can now return to what we do well - mortgage lending," said chief executive Gary Hoffman. | |
| The bank's return to the mortgage market would be governed by focussing on "responsible lending", he added. |