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The Fall of Northern Rock

The Fall of Northern Rock

Brian Walters
2008
T3 164 pages · about 2h 44m to read Open Librarygoodreads

The main dedicated narrative account.

Summary

The reference has not verified this book in detail; the summary states only what the title, author and subject establish.

Brian Walters wrote this account of the Northern Rock failure shortly after the events of September 2007, covering the bank's rise from a building society to a large mortgage lender and its collapse.

The material covers the demutualisation in 1997, the growth strategy pursued under Adam Applegarth that took the bank to a large share of new British mortgage lending, the funding structure based on securitisation through the Granite vehicle and on wholesale borrowing, the closure of those markets in August 2007, the request for Bank of England support and its disclosure, the queues at branches, and the eventual nationalisation.

The reference has not verified this book in detail. It was written quickly and predates the parliamentary inquiries, the Financial Services Authority's internal review and the academic literature. Readers wanting a fuller account should go to the edited volume by Bruni and Llewellyn, which analyses the same events with the benefit of the official record.

Key takeaways 6

  1. Northern Rock's demutualisation in 1997 converted a building society into a bank pursuing growth in market share.
  2. The bank funded mortgage lending through securitisation and wholesale markets rather than through retail deposits.
  3. Closure of securitisation markets in August 2007 removed the funding on which the entire model depended.
  4. Public disclosure of the request for emergency support converted a funding problem into a depositor run.
  5. The bank's assets were largely performing, which shows that funding structure alone can destroy a bank.
  6. The account was written before the official inquiries and does not have the benefit of their findings.

Who should read it

Readers wanting an early narrative of the Northern Rock failure, with the caveat that this entry is not verified in detail and better analyses exist.

Similar books 6

Chosen by shared topics, the entries that hold them, and the people who recommended both.

The Crunch: The Scandal of Northern Rock andThe Crunch: The Scandal of Northern Rock and the Escalating Credit Crisis
T3 The Crunch: The Scandal of Northern Rock and the Escalating Credit Crisis
Alex Brummer · 2008
Open LibraryGoodreads

By the Daily Mail City editor; Northern Rock as the opening of the crisis.

The Failure of Northern Rock: A Multi-DimensThe Failure of Northern Rock: A Multi-Dimensional Case Study
T4 The Failure of Northern Rock: A Multi-Dimensional Case Study
Franco Bruni, David T. Llewellyn · 2009
Open LibraryGoodreads

Northern Rock's failure from several angles: business model, funding and regulation.

Whoops!Whoops!
T3 Whoops!
John Lanchester · 2010
Open LibraryGoodreads

Clearest lay explanation of the UK funding model

Overhaul: An Insider's Account of the Obama Overhaul: An Insider's Account of the Obama Administration's Emergency Rescue of the Auto Industry
T4 Overhaul: An Insider's Account of the Obama Administration's Emergency Rescue of the Auto Industry
Steven Rattner · 2010
Open LibraryGoodreads

Recommended by: Mohnish Pabrai

The Foreclosure of America: The Inside StoryThe Foreclosure of America: The Inside Story of the Rise and Fall of Countrywide Home Loans, the Mortgage Crisis, and the Default of the American Dream
T3 The Foreclosure of America: The Inside Story of the Rise and Fall of Countrywide Home Loans, the Mortgage Crisis, and the Default of the American Dream
Adam Michaelson · 2009
Open LibraryGoodreads

Insider account by a Countrywide marketing executive; the one dedicated book.

The Lost Bank: The Story of Washington MutuaThe Lost Bank: The Story of Washington Mutual, the Biggest Bank Failure in American History
T2 The Lost Bank: The Story of Washington Mutual, the Biggest Bank Failure in American History
Kirsten Grind · 2012
Open LibraryGoodreads

Washington Mutual's rise and its 2008 collapse, the largest US bank failure.

Where it sits in the reference 2

Northern Rock
Companies
The 2008 financial crisis
Financial panics

Topics

Company HistoriesFinancial History