Bankrupt Banker: Northern Rock

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.

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 wr...

Bankrupt Banker News Adam Applegarth joined the ranks of chiefs rewarded for spectacular failures when it emerged that he will pocket £760,000

Adam Applegarth joined the ranks of chiefs rewarded for spectacular failures when it emerged that he will pocket £760,000 after being sacked in December as Northern Rock's chief executive.Mr Applegarth's package includes a £2.6 million pension – despite overseeing a £167.6 million loss. A third of the bank's 6,000-plus jobs will disappear as it attempts to rebalance its books and repay £24 billion in government loans by 2010.The pay-off – which gives him £63,333 a month until November– is on top of the £785,000 he earned in 2007 and the £1.36 million in 2006. Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat treasury spokesman, branded the compensation an "utter disgrace".He said: "This is a straightforward case of reward for failure. The chief executive who led the disastrous business strategy is being generously rewarded for failures of leadership whereas shareholders get nothing and large numbers of workers are being made redundant."Labour MP Kevan Jones, whose North Durham constituency includes many of the workers facing the sack, called on Mr Applegarth to surrender the cash.He said: "I find it incredulous that a man who has already made millions will be paid this amount of money. It will appear to the average person that he is being rewarded for failure."Northern Rock said Mr Applegarth's termination payment, which emerged with the publication of its annual accounts for 2007, was "substantially less" than he was due. But Mr Applegarth will continue to enjoy a staff discount on his mortgage and can reclaim almost £6,000 in legal fees. The accounts also reveal that his home has been fitted with £5,000-worth of security measures since the bank's collapse. He joins the growing number of executives receiving huge pay cheques despite their record in office being held in contempt.Sir John Gieve, the deputy governor of the Bank of England, tops a list of shame compiled by the Taxpayers' Alliance by taking home £234,467 last year – when he was accused of failing to prevent Northern Rock's descent into crisis. Labour MP John McFall said Sir John had been "asleep in the back shop while there was a mugging out front".Health Secretary Alan Johnson suspended a £150,000 pay-out to Rose Gibb, who resigned as chief executive of Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust after an outbreak of Clostridium difficile killed 90 people. Roger Lawson, the chairman of the Northern Rock Shareholders Association Group, said: "A lot of shareholders will be very unhappy with the size of Mr Applegarth's pay-off but it looks like, legally, the company could not have avoided paying that amount. "Had Mr Applegarth taken the company to court then it could have ended up having to pay him even more, so perhaps it has got away with having to pay slightly less than its legal obligation, so I have to be philosophical about it."

Bankrupt Banker News Adam Applegarth joined the ranks of chiefs rewarded for spectacular failures when it emerged that he will pocket £760,000

Adam Applegarth joined the ranks of chiefs rewarded for spectacular failures when it emerged that he will pocket £760,000 after being sacked...