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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| Rock sells off £2.2bn mortgages | Rock sells off £2.2bn mortgages |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| Northern Rock has agreed to sell £2.2bn, or 2%, of its mortgage assets to US investment bank JP Morgan. | Northern Rock has agreed to sell £2.2bn, or 2%, of its mortgage assets to US investment bank JP Morgan. |
| The troubled lender said it would use the funds to reduce the more than £25bn of emergency loans it has been given by the Bank of England. | The troubled lender said it would use the funds to reduce the more than £25bn of emergency loans it has been given by the Bank of England. |
| Northern Rock said the price JP Morgan was paying represented a 2.25% premium over the value of the assets. | Northern Rock said the price JP Morgan was paying represented a 2.25% premium over the value of the assets. |
| The lender first needed a loan from the Bank of England in September last year because of a global credit squeeze. | The lender first needed a loan from the Bank of England in September last year because of a global credit squeeze. |
| Ongoing takeover efforts | |
| Northern Rock is up for sale. The two leading potential buyers are Richard Branson's Virgin Group and investment fund Olivant. | |
| Some analysts say the credit squeeze may make it difficult and expensive for a private buyer to borrow the funds needed to fund the deal. | |
| For this reason, nationalisation of the Rock is seen as a real possibility. | |
| Northern Rock added that it had also transferred funds from its final salary pension scheme from shares into more conservative investments, such as government bonds and cash deposits. |