1. Northern Rock was formally a building society. ‘The Northern Rock Building Society had originally been set up in 1965 following the merger of the Northern Counties Permanent Building Society (established in 1850) and the Rock Building Society (established in 1865). The new society demutualised and converted to a bank in 1997 with a separate Northern Rock Foundation being set up in 1996 to continue its local community and charity work. Northern Rock enjoyed spectacular growth and expansion subsequently. It was quoted on the FTSE 100 Index from 2000 (and was only re-transferred to the FTSE 250 in December 2007 following the recent difficulties). Northern Rock was one of the five top mortgage lenders in the UK. By 2006 it had revenues of £5bn and around 6,400 employees with sub-divisions in Guernsey and separate branches in Ireland and Denmark (…) Before the crisis, the bank's funding had comprised approximately 50 per cent securitisation, 10 per cent covered bonds and 25 per cent wholesale. Retail deposits only represented 22.4 per cent of funding as against its total liabilities and capital’. See Walker, G. (2008), ‘Northern Rock falls’, Bankers' Law, Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 4–12.
2. On 14th September, Northern Rock announced that ‘extreme conditions’ in financial markets had forced it to approach the Bank of England for assistance. The bank's website collapsed under the strain. See http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/2007/09/friday_14_september_2007.html , Accessed 24th April, 2008.
3. See Memorandum of Understanding of 1996 revised in 2006 between HM Treasury, FSA and the Bank of England, http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/documents/financial_services/regulating_financial_services/fin_rfs_mou.cfm , Accessed 20th April, 2008.
4. See http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7007076.stm , Accessed 3rd April, 2008. Lloyds had asked for a £30bn support facility, which was rejected by the Bank of England.
5. The Banking (Special Provisions) Act 2008, http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/consultations_and_legislation/banking/banking_specialprovision_bill.cfm , Accessed 20th April, 2008.