Northern Rock customers forced out

Even if by some miracle a commercial buyer had been found for Northern Rock, the message would have been the same........Abandon Ship! Through persuasion to go and disincentives to stay, the bank needs to encourage customers into remortgaging away so that it can shrink its liabilities.

Existing borrowers are finding that the bank is actively suggesting they leave for competitors as current fixed rate and discounted deals come to an end. This is all about reducing the size of Northern Rock to something more in tune with its depositor base and even though the taxpayer now underwrites the business, any eventual return to the private sector must be at a far reduced market share.

With alternatives rapidly disappearing for those borrowers who require higher loan to value mortgages we would recommend that existing Northern Rock customers pre-empt the end of any current scheme and explore their options now. In particular any client on the 'Together' flexi-mortgage may will almost certainly be far better off jumping ship rather than pay the very high rates now associated with this scheme.

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