This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/business/7232234.stm
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Rock to appear on public accounts | Rock to appear on public accounts |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Northern Rock will appear on government accounts, the Office for National Statistics has decided. | |
| The decision from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) had been widely expected as a result of the government's rescue package. | The decision from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) had been widely expected as a result of the government's rescue package. |
| It means the government may be at risk of breaking its rule to keep net debt below 40% of national income. | |
| The ONS stressed that the statistical change to public status should not be confused with nationalisation. | The ONS stressed that the statistical change to public status should not be confused with nationalisation. |
| 'In charge' | |
| Under the change, Northern Rock is to be classified as a public financial corporation for statistical purposes. | Under the change, Northern Rock is to be classified as a public financial corporation for statistical purposes. |
| This means that the ONS judges that the government is in charge of Northern Rock's "general corporate policy". | This means that the ONS judges that the government is in charge of Northern Rock's "general corporate policy". |
| "This is largely due to powers that the Bank of England has taken as part of its secured lending facility arrangements," the ONS said. | |
| It gave examples of the things that Northern Rock cannot do without government permission - such as corporate restructuring, making dividend payments and buying or selling certain types of assets. | |
| 'Consolidation' | |
| The change will be back-dated to 9 October 2007, which was when the Treasury extended its guarantees to cover new savings deposited at Northern Rock. | |
| The BBC's economics editor, Evan Davis, said the move was "not nationalisation". | |
| "Northern Rock had been expected at some stage to come on to the government books," he said. | |
| "It does not mean we own Northern Rock any more than we did... but this consolidates it on the books." |