Friday 14 September 2007

Northern Rock?

It is a crying shame that Northern Rock has run into difficulties given its
commitment to the North-East with its foundation. I bought a few shares as a
high-risk punt and it was very high risk. I suppose I should just have to
sit and wait.
It is a very sad sight if you see queues of people scrambling for their
deposits. I remember a small building society called Southdown in East Sussex,
which was subject to a few rumours in August 1991 and that was that. There was
a scramble by depositors to get their money out and Southdown had to be rescued by
another building society. I would urge Northern Rock customers to be calm
and hopefully the weekend will give the bank much needed time.
Lloyds TSB has been viewed as a possible bidder but any predator might prefer
to buy the assets in a future distress sale. It depends on what the Bank of England
comes up with. What is clear is that the board and top management of Northern Rock
are looking at alternative career options.

No comments: