Northern Rock asks for Bank help

[ewerk 30167]

I was quite disgusted that yesterday no sports/ entertainment or business names turned up when NR asked them for support. It wouldnt have taken a great amount of their time to do, would have been publicity for them and helped NR out a touch. But as always it seems these people are keen to take the money in sponsorship/ support etc from them but not get off their arses to help.

 

What would you like to see them doing in terms of support?

[peasepud 59]

I was quite disgusted that yesterday no sports/ entertainment or business names turned up when NR asked them for support. It wouldnt have taken a great amount of their time to do, would have been publicity for them and helped NR out a touch. But as always it seems these people are keen to take the money in sponsorship/ support etc from them but not get off their arses to help.

 

What would you like to see them doing in terms of support?

 

Northern Rock had issued an appeal for local personalities from sport, entertainment and business to turn up at a set place and open an account with them, purely as a PR thing and seemingly none turned up. Thats all they had to do, take 10 mins out and be seen to be supporting them. They didnt have to transfer their millions over or anything purely open a savings account.

 

Now the amount of money NR have pumped into the likes of the toon, falcons, the Sage music venue, theatres etc you would have thought a few would have made the effort.

[Fop 1]

Probably a good time to buy shares at the moment.

[ewerk 30167]

I was quite disgusted that yesterday no sports/ entertainment or business names turned up when NR asked them for support. It wouldnt have taken a great amount of their time to do, would have been publicity for them and helped NR out a touch. But as always it seems these people are keen to take the money in sponsorship/ support etc from them but not get off their arses to help.

 

What would you like to see them doing in terms of support?

 

Northern Rock had issued an appeal for local personalities from sport, entertainment and business to turn up at a set place and open an account with them, purely as a PR thing and seemingly none turned up. Thats all they had to do, take 10 mins out and be seen to be supporting them. They didnt have to transfer their millions over or anything purely open a savings account.

 

Now the amount of money NR have pumped into the likes of the toon, falcons, the Sage music venue, theatres etc you would have thought a few would have made the effort.

 

Tbh you'd have to be pretty stupid to base your financial decisions on what a footballer or rugby player does, but then again these people taking money out clearly are pretty stupid. I agree that for the money NR have put into the local area, more should have been done.

[Tom 14011]

Probably a good time to buy shares at the moment.

 

You reckon?

[sammynb 3342]

Rumour has it that one of the major banks here, NAB, is interested in buying Northern Rock.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/business/nab-mu...9881405797.html

[Dr Kenneth Noisewater 0]

Has anyone else been following The Journal's campaign to get people opening new accounts at NR to help save them?

 

Over 5000 jobs in the area and £175 million given to North East good causes over the last ten years.

 

Photo of Butt, Given, Taylor and another one of our players I forget at the moment pledging their support. Also, the Falcons, Eagles and Durham C.C players have been drumming up support.

[NJS 4355]

It will be interesting to see if the government can get away with this guarantee thing in EU law.

 

The bank I work for is one of about 20 German federal state banks that lost one point of their credit ratings a couple of years ago after the EU forced them to stop acting as guarantors for the banks because of competition laws.

[Dr Kenneth Noisewater 0]

Help keep the Rock Northern

 

AN urgent call went out last night to help keep the Rock northern amid fears of a takeover bid for the bank.

 

As experts predicted that Northern Rock’s fate could be sealed in the next week, business chiefs joined The Journal in stepping up their calls for people to get behind the bank, saying it was vital to the region that such a major plc is not lost.

 

The Journal believes that Northern Rock, which employs 5,600 people in the North-East, and whose charitable Foundation donates 5% of its profits to good causes, has captured hearts and minds in our region.

 

Unlike the other high-street banks it is not a faceless financial institution. Most people know somebody who works, or is connected to, Northern Rock. A great many families have been involved with a community project that has benefited from money from its foundation.

 

Existing deposits are 100% guaranteed. It is still as safe as houses to invest £2,000 in Northern Rock. And we are calling on everyone who has ever gained from the bank’s presence in the North-East to open a new account, which can be done for as little as £1.

 

If you feel you owe them anything at all, now is the time to repay Northern Rock.

 

The call to arms comes as experts told of the importance of Northern Rock to the region, with its head office, branches and 5,600 jobs.

 

Richard Slack, principal lecturer in accounting and finance at Northumbria University, said: “Over the next week is probably when it will be decided.

 

“The original customer panic has settled down. The wider issue that now faces the board is the collapse of the share price and whether or not there might be a predatory bid. Then we’re into a bad situation and who knows what would happen?”

 

Andrew Miller, based in Newcastle for Barclays Wealth, said: “Clearly it’s going to be difficult for the bank. The most likely scenario is that somebody takes them over. There are rumours but we don’t know at this stage who that might be.

 

“At least we have got a bit of calm now. It’s very difficult to speculate on what happens next and it’s probably a question of ‘Wait and See’ at this stage.

 

Journal editor Brian Aitken said: “This past week has seen an incredible amount of support for our campaign in support of Northern Rock. We feel the bank and its staff fully deserve that support.

 

“It is vitally important that people realise how much it means for the North-East to have such a plc based here.

 

“The support of the region can keep Northern Rock northern, but that support needs to come sooner rather than later.”

 

Chief Executive of the North-East Chamber of Commerce, James Ramsbotham, said: “People don’t realise how Northern Rock is interwoven into our lives at every level. In the North-East the Northern Rock has a real face.

 

“They provide nearly 6,000 direct jobs and impact on 1,500 other jobs, their head office is in the region, they use North-East suppliers and employ North-East people.

 

“Through its foundation we have a major plc that effectively invests profits back into the region.

 

“We’ve just got to keep it going. They’ve got to get deposits back into their coffers as soon as possible. The challenge is to get that happening fast so the share price can go up.”

 

Northern Rock deputy chief executive David Baker yesterday said banking was getting back to normal.

 

He said: “Things have calmed down. We are seeing more normal levels of business activity and continue to be delighted by the support being shown to us by our customers, The Journal and the North-East community in general, through this difficult period.”

 

Northern Rock’s shares made a modest rise of around 10p yesterday, closing at 194.3p, following its 28% slump on Thursday.

 

The bank’s share price has more than halved this week and the company is now worth just £818m, compared to £2.7bn the day before the Bank of England’s announcement of emergency funding facilities.

[Rob W 0]

I understand the Rock will make around £ 400 mm profit this year - any bank who buys them at the current stock price will gettheir money back in 2 years - that's a very tempting target..............................

[ewerk 30167]

I understand the Rock will make around £ 400 mm profit this year - any bank who buys them at the current stock price will gettheir money back in 2 years - that's a very tempting target..............................

 

I think most potential bidders will be pretty worried about the £100 billion of liablities on the books and the fact that some of this will have to be re-financed in the near future.

[Meenzer 15347]

On the other hand, they did say "Thank You" at the match yesterday, which was very nice of them (and made the pub erupt in laughter).

[Jill 0]

Those 'Rock Steady' t-shirts man. I kept wanting to say "Bebop!" each time I saw one.

[Rob W 0]

I understand the Rock will make around £ 400 mm profit this year - any bank who buys them at the current stock price will gettheir money back in 2 years - that's a very tempting target..............................

 

I think most potential bidders will be pretty worried about the £100 billion of liablities on the books and the fact that some of this will have to be re-financed in the near future.

 

but the liabilities are covered by the mortgages - you could justr stop lending, which would stop the need for borrowing new money - and take the profits......................

[NJS 4355]

Found out this morning that the government guarantee is illegal under EU law but its been okayed for a "short period" which is undefined. Expect the Germans to say something soon.

[RlCO 0]

Found out this morning that the government guarantee is illegal under EU law but its been okayed for a "short period" which is undefined. Expect the Germans to say something soon.

 

I think the guarantee is fine (protecting savings), but I heard a while back the government loan facility is classified as 'state support' which can only be allowed for 3 or 6 months. Like Rob I've no idea why they don't just stop giving out mortgages, then only fund new ones with the shedload of repayments they must get every month, other thanb the share price suffereing. This is the problem with plcs rather than mutuals, had they not sold their soul to the stockmarket all this might not have happened.

[Rob W 0]

Found out this morning that the government guarantee is illegal under EU law but its been okayed for a "short period" which is undefined. Expect the Germans to say something soon.

 

I think the guarantee is fine (protecting savings), but I heard a while back the government loan facility is classified as 'state support' which can only be allowed for 3 or 6 months. Like Rob I've no idea why they don't just stop giving out mortgages, then only fund new ones with the shedload of repayments they must get every month, other thanb the share price suffereing. This is the problem with plcs rather than mutuals, had they not sold their soul to the stockmarket all this might not have happened.

 

 

guess they may have to borrow or hand over the mortgages, Owen , Wilkinson and 25% of the Sage