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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Treasury extends Rock guarantees | Treasury extends Rock guarantees |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| The Treasury has extended financial guarantees to Northern Rock at the request of the troubled lender. | |
| It has offered to cover any loss by financial institutions which provide money to Northern Rock so the bank can operate normal banking services. | It has offered to cover any loss by financial institutions which provide money to Northern Rock so the bank can operate normal banking services. |
| The Treasury has already guaranteed savers' deposits held at Northern Rock after September saw the the UK's first run on a bank in living memory. | |
| The move risks being seen as taking the bank a step closer to nationalisation. | The move risks being seen as taking the bank a step closer to nationalisation. |
| It will also lead to greater financial exposure for taxpayers, who have already lent Northern Rock an estimated £26bn. | It will also lead to greater financial exposure for taxpayers, who have already lent Northern Rock an estimated £26bn. |
| "What this means is that other financial institutions that have lent money to Northern Rock will now have their loans guaranteed," said BBC business editor Robert Peston. | |
| "Plainly Northern Rock feared that there would effectively be a meltdown if that they didn't get this guarantee," he added. | "Plainly Northern Rock feared that there would effectively be a meltdown if that they didn't get this guarantee," he added. |
| "This is not very far in my view from actual nationalisation." | "This is not very far in my view from actual nationalisation." |
| Credit crunch | |
| The government would prefer a commercial solution for Northern Rock. | |
| An auction process has been thrown into doubt recently, though two high-profile suitors remain, including preferred bidder Virgin Group. | |
| The Treasury's announcement means that most of Northern Rock's balance sheet is now covered by government guarantees. | |
| This technically takes the gross exposure of the taxpayer to more than £100bn, the BBC's business editor said. | |
| The Treasury said it would extend its existing agreement to cover the bank's wholesale obligations and borrowings to other financial institutions. | |
| It said the agreement related to agreements "existing or arising in the future". | |
| Northern Rock ran in difficulties during the recent credit crunch. | |
| Unlike most banks, which rely on savers' deposits to fund mortgages and other loans, Northern Rock borrowed heavily in credit markets. | |
| But banks become nervous about lending cash to each other amid fears over exposure to the US housing market slump. | |
| This forced Northern Rock to seek emergency funding from the Bank of England in September, news which sent some customers rushing to withdraw their savings. |