Northern Rock to be nationalised

It's a stupid sensationalist figure that doesn't at all take into account the reality of the situation and is being bandied about solely for the purpose of catching attention and exagerating what a mess the whoel thing is. So in that respect, I don't care where you heard it, it's still daily mail/express territory, and they've been doing the same shit and writing in the same way for more than 4/5 years so it's a comparison that doesn't really date.

Yes, 100m over X amount of tax payers would be about 3.5 grand, but to say people are going to need a second mortage is stupid. To say people are even going to get a bill of that amount is stupid.

The business plan was formed long before the money markets started taking a downward turn. Shareholders' interests and job security weren't issues when the plan was successful, so it shouldn't be now. Every business has to take risks. I don't think a bad set of morals has lead them to this situation.

that is just not tue. the government have not taken 100 million quid from our pockets and given it to someone in Northern Rock and it's dishonest to make out they have. the bank has a mortgage book which exceeds the debts. True, some of these mortgages will go bad but not ALL of them, which would have to be the case for your £100 million to be called for. most of the mortgages will be repaid, some will result in repossessions and losses but to claim that £100 million has been lost is sensationalist drivel.

You can argue the difference in semantics between 'taking out a mtg and 'lumbered with a mtg', but essentially your point's still stupid, irrelevant, and sensationalist, because the 100m figure you're using for it won't be passed on to the tax payer as some kind of bill. The bulk of it is made up of guarantees (which haven't been called on at all), and the rest is secured by the banks assets.

Northern Rock has had a reputation as one of the most prudent lenders, and one of the most reliable financial institutions. Saying they had questionable lending practices because of 100%+ mortgages is ridiculous because they were by no means the only lender offering it. Equally, they were not the only bank to have financed themselves heavily on the money markets. And again equally, they're not the only bank to have been hit by a freeze in liquidity that few/no one predicted. It's just in their case the business wasn't diversified enough to deal with it.

The business is set to be run in recovery mode, not run-down or sold off or split up. The whole point of nationalising it is to prevent that. Why would the government take the bank on board only to split it up? It wouldn't make any sense.

You're right though, the shareholders won't get anything, but nor do they deserve anything. They were fully behind the business model when it was see 20-50% returns, with business, profit and market-share increasing every year. They invested in the company knowing how it operates, they shouldn't get anything out of it now the company has failed. they took their chance, took the rewards, now must take the losses.

Exactly

Well yes, I'm sure Natalie, in her capacity as provincial mortgage adviser and Nuts topless model, will be able to set everything straight here. Ron Sandler will probably be on the phone to her as we speak.

I think Applegarth and crew WERE imprudent. along with most of the banking sector. He was lauded as a financial genius by most of the financial press for exactly that business model however.
I feel sorry for the staff though because they have done nothing wrong yet will pay for his stupidity with their jobs whilst he walks away with wads of cash.
The shareholders deserve nowt. They took the dividends when times were good they have to accept that their shares are now worthless. tough. (I'm a shareholder as I got some when it demutualised. I never paid for them and I got some dividends. I feel fine about them now)

Ive just had a text from the wife saying she's just had a call to go and meet him and wanted to know what she should ask. I said ask him how he got the job when he's a non-dom

Ask him if he was embarassed by that stupid Canadian woman going on about Sheffield.

So what happens now when some subprime pikey family doesn't pay their mortgage? Are we going to see New Labour turfing children out on the streets to minimise the losses on this buy? What will the voters say?

I can't really see it happening, which means that the government need to get rid of Northern Rock quick.

they'll be doing it 'at arms length' so no worries there

i've said this time and again, northern rock was consistently known to be one the most difficult lenders to get a mortgage with and the mortgage book is very favourable when compared with the majority of other mortgage lenders.

it isnt our lending that caused the problem, it was the method of financing the lending once we started to grow at such a stratospheric rate.

i would also point people towards comments regarding northern rock before the whole incident went sour. it was seen as a poster child for the lending market, respected sources couldnt wait to kiss it's arse and call it the best thing ever.

things go wrong, nothing drastic was done at that bank that would have caused a major fuckup.

even AFTER we arranged to borrow funds from the bank of england, what was the net result on the projections for the year? instead of making 20% profits, we would make 15%. thats was it.

scaremongering in the press caused the run, which in turn fucked the bank...

when you consider that we werent the only bank to earmark funds from the bank of england (due to the very same problem) it should be clear that it was a global issue, and the only reason we got fucked was because of consumer panic and i still stand by that.

Birdgy man I remember the day you were hacked off about the % of workers employed by the government in the NE & you failed to listen to the fact that any single area that carried DSS Longbenton & Catterick garrison would have a massive bearing on the % never mind a area having both.

Would you rather the government sold it £25 billion investment (the only figured that has been confirmed) for about £325 million?

As cutting as ever FW

http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/...plunge-from-obscene-to-repulsive-20080214727/

http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/business/darling-sets-fire-to-huge-pile-of-money-20080218730/