Northern Rock shares rebound
Government intervention aims to restore confidence in UK financial sector.
Customers began queuing to withdraw to withdraw their funds last week [AFP] |
However, account holders remained worried.
“We were here yesterday but were told we had no chance of getting in, so we are back today and will wait as long as we have to.”
Joyce Hutton, who was queuing for a second day, said: “What the government has said gives us more hope, but there is still doubt and I am not taking any chances.”
Loan crisis
Customers at Northern Rock, which provides one in 13 British home loans, are estimated to have withdrawn at least two billion pounds ($4bn) since Friday.
Attempts by Adam Applegarth, Northern Rock’s chief executive, to allay customer fears and unease across the sector had done little before Tuesday to reduce panic among many account holders.
There have been mounting concerns that Northern Rock’s problems would spread across the industry, and the government’s move on Monday helped shares rebound across the sector .
The bank is the first major British financial institution to be hit severely by the global credit crunch sparked last month by a crisis in the US subprime, or high-risk, mortgage sector.
Australia speculation
Meanwhile, Australia’s central bank has denied speculation that banks there had sought emergency funds.
The Reserve Bank of Australia, which has pumped billions of dollars into money markets as lending dried up, quickly denied speculation that one or more regional banks were seeking emergency funding.
“Those rumours are false,” said Ric Battellino, Reserve Bank of Australia’s deputy governor.
The rumours drove the Australian dollar lower and hurt shares of several regional Australian banks.