Northern Rock Share Discussion Threads

[bryan2] 24/12/2008 14:46

Was the leak an accident?

The infamous leak from the Treasury to Robert Peston that caused the run on Northern Rock (Oct2007) is mostly viewed as a stupid blunder, but now I'm not so sure.
The leak from the Treasury, some say, was to teach the Banks a lesson, but it got unexpectedly out of control.
Ive recently rethought the episode and a deliberate fully thought out leak makes a compelling alternative view.
The net result of the leak was the run on Northern Rock which transferred 12B£ cash to other British Banks and the forced transfer to HMG of probably the best mortgage book in the UK.
This extra cash boost to the other British Banks enabled them to stave off the effects of the liquidity freeze for a few months.
March 2008 (all British Banks cash strapped) the Government(BoE) introduces the Special Liquidity Scheme and exchanges gilts for Mortgage Backed Bonds.
In addition the Banks have to introduce rights issues RBS 12B£,HBOS 4B£,Barclays 4B£.
This measure proves insufficient.
Oct2008, HMG seizes control of further British Banks because of continued liquidity freeze. RBS 60%;HBOS/LLOY 42% Barclays forced to accept penal terms from Middle East Sheiks.
Within 12 months all British Banks brought to near ruin.
What would the situation now have been, if Northern Rock had not approached the BoE with the liquidity problem in Oct 2007.

[greycioud] 23/12/2008 17:58

Bryan

Give your *rse a rest you talk too much!!

[kpwuk] 22/12/2008 22:32

Because his daddy is.......?

[bryan2] 22/12/2008 16:22

Tonight on BBC the Government spokesman John Peston will present a TV programme showing that, whoever is to blame for the present financial crisis, it is not the Government.
The Bank's Deputy Governor for Financial Stability, Sir John Gieve will say that the BoE did not appreciate the extent of the financial crisis.
The blurb for the programme suggests that it will look at the internal operation of the British credit market as being the cause of the crisis.
The fact that the major cause of the crisis; the operations of Wall Street, with Sub Prime,CDO,SIVs and massive fraud thrown in will not be of much concern.
Northern Rock in August 2007 was portrayed as being a maverick, one off, bad egg. Therefor the BoE did not need to worry about interbank-bank liquidity and would only need to lecture on "moral hazard" to fulfill its responsibilities.
Readers of this thread know what an appalling degree of complacency was shown by the BoE at the time.
Now that all British Banks have been brought low by the same lack of liquidity, the need to rewrite history is self evident.
With the upcoming court case for compensation almost here, expect the Government spokesman John Peston, to say that Northern Rock shareholders are due nothing.
All through the present crisis, Peston has appeared at sensitive or critical points to explain the Government case.

[cpl593h] 22/12/2008 15:23

Back at ya!

[bryan2] 22/12/2008 12:11

cpl593h

You seem to have more time than sense.
Do you have any shares at all or are you a complete prat with nothing better to do than post drivel.
Go out for a walk and get a life!

[bryan2] 22/12/2008 08:57

cpl593h
You seem to be be keen to follow me from thread to thread.
Do you have any shares or are you just another prat like coogar who has nothing better to do than waste the time of investors with stupid jibes?

[loverat] 21/12/2008 05:46

Take part in the only debate which only matters.

[greycioud] 20/12/2008 12:58

Honestypoos

ROFLMAO!!

[cpl593h] 18/12/2008 22:56

Bryan, seriously dude, let it go.

No one here pays any more attention to you that they do on the hundreds of unnecessary threads that you start on ALL the banks.

[scribbler101] 16/12/2008 00:56

kpwuk - the Welsh DO live on "an island of their own".

Unfortunately the Eastern and Northern parts therof have for some considerable time been occupied by invaders.

[greycioud] 15/12/2008 18:22

Is Bryan a complete muppet talking to himself???

[bryan2] 15/12/2008 09:31

At all stages of the crisis Mervyn has treated the British Banks almost as an enemy.
The liquidity crisis is like a blocked drain.
The central responsibility for unblocking the drain fell to a more than reluctant BoE who denied any responsibility for keeping the Banking system functioning.
Its a bit like a water company blaming the consumers for using too much water.
Then charging them an upfront fee for fixing the water supply.
Watching the unfolding liquidity crisis is like looking at a gruesome slow motion train crash.
First casualty Northern Rock Britain's most efficient mortgage provider. Then one by one all the other Banks hit the buffers.
Mervyns response has been a grudging change of policy -too little ,too late.
The full details of the Special Liquidity Scheme have yet to be announced.
My guess is that any Bank that used the scheme had to pay severe penal charges.
The recapitalisation scheme shows a mean vindictive policy of screwing any Bank that gets involved.
Smoke and mirrors has been the hallmark of this Government, headline high figures for "help" on closer examination reveal smaller penal awards, coupled with poisonous conditions.
12% preference shares and a massive chunk of the Banks equity in return for a promise from the Banks to lend at around 3% to almost anyone and to go easy on them if the customers don't repay.

The near destruction of the British Banking system is the legacy of Mervyn who unfortunately, as we all know continues in post .

[bryan2] 13/12/2008 16:38

Improved compensation offer for Bradford & Bingley Shareholders



It seems to be looking up for the prospects of compensation.
Not only was Northern Rock hit by the money markets freezing up, but it was denied any effective help by the BoE.
The BoE at the time thought it was not obliged to do anything when interbank lending seized up in Oct 2007.
B&B were allowed to use the SLS introduced in March 2008, a scheme which would have allowed NRK to trade normally.
The head of Virgin money (which was not allowed to buy NRK) said they were not interested in acquiring B&B, because its mortgage book was much inferior to NRKs.
But a further real claim on compensation comes from the fact that there was a deliberate leak by the treasury, about the approach NRK had made to the BoE about the liquidity problem.
This leak led directly to the run on NRK causing an outflow of 10B£ of cash.
Since then the BoE has quite rightly kept secret the names of the banks making use of the SLS.

[bryan2] 10/12/2008 10:02

Are we living in an economic madhouse?

Today Alistair Darling will try to force all British Banks to lend at around 3%.
Meanwhile HMG will charge the Banks 12% for its "help".
The Government own outright Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley and have a controlling interest in RBS and as yet does not implement its own policy.
The incoherence and stupidity of the Government policy provides an open goal that any competent opposition could exploit.
Yet the Tory shadow Chancellor Osbourne seems ineffectual and completely out of his depth.
Is it not time that an economic heavyweight like Kenneth Clark took on the role of shadow chancellor to provide some effective opposition?

[bryan2] 04/12/2008 12:40

Another Leak!

Robert Peston (the Government Propaganda Minister) said on BBC yesterday that at a private meeting between between the Council of Mortgage Lenders(CML) and Ministers that the CML said the repossession rate for houses will rise to 75000 next year.
Today on BBC news a spokesman for CML complained about the leaking of the contents of a private meeting to the media.
He said that the facts given out were distorted by spin.
He speculated about the motives of the ministers who leaked and said the net result was to cause alarm and despondency in the population.
People can form their own opinion about the arrest of Damion Green MP over other leaks.
However it is a bit rich, that HMG is claiming righteous indignation about leaks, when it has systematically leaked via Peston, at all stages of the Banking crisis.
Further since Pestons leaks often contain market sensitive information (useful for insider dealing), I know where I would direct the police.

[kpwuk] 03/12/2008 09:15

The Welsh would be better living on an island of their own, then they can just be rude to each other, miserable b*stards.