Northern Rock??

[hex]

We've got a mortgage with NR with a cash draw down facility...should we be worried? Is what's going on likely to affect mortgages?

Margo, re Barclays are you SURE? THat is extraordinary news if true.

I really would not like to be a Northern Rock mortgage holder who had stretched the truth on the application forms.

If new terms have to be negotiated with any buyer they are up that creek without a paddle.

The same person who told me about the Lloyds worker told me about Barclays. It could be urban legend, you know how fast rumours spread. I must speak to my next door neighbour, she works for them.

"Darling throws out rules in bid to end turmoil...with a full guarantee of deposits at Northern Rock that left the system for dealing with bank collapses in tatters."
business.guardian.co.uk/markets/story/0,,2171600,00.html

I am not sure what to think of this - the government did not use our money to bail out investors when that Christmas savings scheme Farepack went down, or for those whose pensions went under.

People who chose to put their savings in Northern Rock got a high rate for a reason. If they have more than £35,000 in there I don't see why my taxes are being used to protect them.

Upwind - its simply to stop panic causing a real crisis. The garantee should prevent the bank from collapsing unecessarily so no tax payers money should need to be expended. The Bank of England is not giving any money away at the moment, its lending it with interest rate so net should gain money back from NR.

I do agree that anyone who puts more than 35K in one place is an idiot, but pensioners do go and do that with lump sums for simplicity and to get a slightly better rate and cos they get conned by wbankers

Yes I agree that anyone who puts more than £35k is an idiot. I have half mine (not as much as 35k of course) in Northern Rock and the other half in the Alliance & Leicester!

AAAAAAAAAAAArgh!

People who put more than 35k in one place get a better rate because they are in effect choosing not to pay for insurance on their savings. Pensioners tend to remember that banks can and have gone under, I think it is a bit patronising to assume that they are idiots or gullible enough to fall for salesmens' speil.

I know the goverment are trying to prevent NR and other banks from going down but the wbankers in charge had chosen to take risks by relying so heavily on the money markets for short term advantage. Doesn't this create a moral hazard?

If Mr Darling is reading this, guaranteeing customers their money back is not going to change investers' panic. They have nothing to lose by taking their money out and everything to gain. If, on the other hand, you offered a bonus, or increased interest rate, they would stay with the bank. In other words, put interest rates UP.

Re 35K - you are right. I have a lot more than 35K invested in my home, so I am an idiot too.

Ouch! Investors

MrsMarvel - or just lucky to have been able to buy in at the right time

Anyone I have talked to has said that the reason they would/were taking their money out was not so much because they feared losing it but that they suspected it might take a long time and a lot of hassle to get it back. As you say they have nothing to lose and everything to gain from withdrawing what they can.

Anyone else, er, thinking of dabbling in a little stock market speculation on this one? We are thinking about it...

Errrrrrrrrrm, thought about it, and decided against. If NR gets bought out, the shares will be worthless.

Many of the staff may already be looking for other jobs, the board will be demoralised. It's ripe for a buy out, you would be better off buying shares in the company that's going to buy it out.

Oh, we're not thinking long term, just a day or so to take advantage of a possible short term rise as things settle down a bit. Still thinking but not doing so will probably be too late as usual!