Since the UK taxpayer now effectively owns the Wreck, don't we have a right to know about the sale. Seems not. The stricken bank wants to keep details of its shabby financial condition a secret. It has taken out an injunction preventing its current owners (i.e. the taxpayer) from seeing the sales document.
Northern Rock tries to block leak
Northern Rock has won an injunction preventing the further publication of a sales document that was sent to potential bidders for the ailing bank.
The memo outlined sales options and showed Northern Rock could still owe £6bn to the Bank of England by 2010. The document was posted on the Financial Times' Alphaville website and reported on by other newspapers. Northern Rock had complained that the memo's publication could jeopardise complex talks to save the bank.
Rough outline
The High Court granted a limited injunction preventing further reporting of the memo, but rejected wider curbs. "The company believes that further speculative reporting based on the illustrative information in the memorandum may jeopardise the complex discussions and negotiations taking place," Northern Rock said.
The bank set a deadline of Friday for all interested parties to submit their proposals for taking over Northern Rock. When the markets from which Northern Rock borrowed its money stopped lending, Northern Rock was forced to go to the Bank of England for emergency funding. Northern Rock expects to have borrowed £24bn from the Bank of England by the end of the year.
(There is good forum on NR on Global House Price Crash)
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