You say buck stops with Northern Rock directors

Sep 15 2008 By Andrew Mernin

  Your views on:

Who was to blame for the crisis:

"The news that was leaked to the press caused the run on the bank. NR asking for the funding should not have been a problem, it was not a problem for other banks when they asked for help."

"The FSA comes a close second. What has happened since shows NR did not need to be nationalised as it was and still is solvent. Timely support, as evidenced by the ECB model, would have ensured NR survival without as much staff, shareholder and NE community pain pain."

"Blundering and dithering from politicians and their lackeys contributed massively to the problem. Sub prime loans were obviously doomed, how were Bankers conned into participating in them?"

"The management should be sued for the mess they made of the bank."

"The failing of the FSA in properly having the management policies, and accountancy practices by qualified accountants is appalling. How the FSA staff involved did not accept responsibility for their mistakes is something that needs to be corrected by a independant enquiry, and not by a government fudge."

"Government for not putting proper legistation and letting management exploit the loopholes by inflating sharevalue to fool the customers at large. Secondly, BOE for leaking the information to BBC, which lead to the run on british bank in a century. BOE din't fulfill the obligation has lender of last resort."

"You could have added the BBC to the list for prematurely publishing confidential information and in a melodramatic way which caused the panic by depositors."

"I wish I could get things so badly wrong in my business judgment and still be as well rewarded as those culpable"

The Government's handling of the situation:

"The Government should have stepped in earlier and reassured investors not to panic by withdrawing their investments, henced bringing the bank down to its knees and hampering a real chance of recovery."

"The bad situation was over emphasised causing panic. There are many shareholders, elderly like myself who feel greatly let down. I have been a sensible saver all my life and the policy today is spend spend spend and many do, when they are not in a position to pay. The shareholders should not have to forfeit their shares to resolve bad debts."

"Northern rock was first to hit trouble so the govt did not have the opportunity to asess the whole picture, I think Northern Rock has been sensationalised because of this. When other banks have had problems they seem to have been dealt with in a much calmer manner."

"Yet again the government say one thing and do another. Is it any wonder that no-one trusts them any more?"

"They could not have done a worse job"

"I understand that to be able to count is a tool that most chancellors were able to do, but Mr. Brown , and to a lesser extent Mr. Darling have not shown great prowess in this skill in the last five years or so. How can we accept such poor capabilities from these highly paid individuals, and their civil servant advisors in the twentyfirst century."

"Almost every single thing that could go wrong went wrong. They should simply have quietly lent any money needed at a competitive rate and allow Northern Rock to repay when conditions improve. That's what Central Banks are supposed to do."

"It could have shown more decisive leadership, but was faced with an unprecedented situation. The end result - that the bank survived - shows it has generally done the right thing."

"My father is a shareholder and has had no communication from them or the Rock since the EGM, in spite of strict rules governing statements to shareholders. If it was not for media coverage, especially from the Journal, he would be none the wiser."

"What were they thinking of - that the whole thing was a bad dream which would go away when they woke up? Worst of all its the same Government now which is leading us through the continuing crisis."

The future of Northern Rock:

"It has been destroyed. It is just a name on a football shirt but perhaps not for much longer."

"Until it was pilloried in the press due to political interference, and responsibility shedding the NR was much admired. With a slight rebranding, and small name change the business will become sound again, to everyone,s advantage once the politicians have been ousted from their offices."

"It has been irrevocably damaged by its own and the government's folly."

"CONFIDENCE IS AT A LOW EBB EVEN THOUGH CURRTENT INVESTMENT INTEREST RATES ARE COMPARABLE I WOULD NOT INVEST FURTHER."

"Sandler has ruined the company. Its prime borrowers are being sold off to other lenders leaving it with a mortgage book no-one else wants - a mortgage book that will only give it an increased and enhanced arrears level. savers may be back but it is a shadow of its former self."

"The brand is now fatally flawed. Sooner or later I believe it will be sold off for a pittance to one of the other big banks."

"It is a business that has its roots in the North East with customers that are/were loyal due to its regional base. They will support it in the future. With the current government guarantees in place, why shouldn't they?"

"I think public opinion of the bank will only get worse as the effects of its lax lending criteria and willingness to lend people upto 125% of their property value and self-certify their income result in more property repossessions in the region."

"It will probably go back to being a Building Society therefore having much stricter rules about lending."