Northern Rock, the lender nationalised during the financial crisis after the first run on a British bank in more than a century, is to be sold

The Chancellor said in his Mansion House speech: "Images of the queues outside Northern Rock branches were a symbol of all that went wrong, and its chaotic collapse did great damage to Britain’s international reputation."
He said returning the lender to the private sector would help to rebuild that reputation and increase competition on the high street.
"We could start to get at least some of our money back," Mr Osborne told the City. "And it would be a very important first step in getting the British taxpayer out of the business of owning banks – and a sign of confidence in the industry."
He said an auction was expected to "generate substantially the best value for the taxpayer", but other options to return Northern Rock to the private sector, such as remutualisation or a floatation, have not been ruled out.
UKFI, the body that holds the UK taxpayer's stakes in the bailed-out banks, had recommended Northern Rock be sold for at least £1.4bn - which is what the government injected into the bank - rather than remutualised. However, an auction is expected to raise only about £1bn.