Ok, first Northern Rock - who next?!

HankMcSpank

I've scoured the press but I'm surprised there don't seem to be any stories about other banks/building societies that might be in a similarly precarious position to the Northern Rock.

I've heard snippets here & there that the Bradford & Bingley, Alliance & Leicester are in a similar funding situation - ie they get their funds from the money markets - as opposed to retail - (& possibly Barclays)...but is anyone here clued up enough to comment?

RayWolfe

No one is quite in NR's position. Their retail deposit to money market ratio is the lowest of the majors at around 25% (and falling ;-) ). B&B and A&L are next with Nationwide, at the other end of the spectrum, being about 75%.

alared

Heard on the radio yesterday a spokesman for the Building Societies saying that they are a lot more secure than banks because the biggest share of their mortgage loans comes from their own savers.

HankMcSpank

alared wrote: »

Heard on the radio yesterday a spokesman for the Building Societies saying that they are a lot more secure than banks because the biggest share of their mortgage loans comes from their own savers.

That might be true but wouldn't you expect a Building Society spokesman to say that anyway?!

Anyone any knowledge specifically about the Scarborough Building Society...I have a fair bit of dosh with they were chasing market share in - gulp - the sub prime sector according to a press release about a year ago!

Bernard_Coleslaw

HankMcSpank wrote: »

That might be true but wouldn't you expect a Building Society spokesman to say that anyway?!

Um. Yes. Because, on this occasion, it's relevant and true.

aardvaak

Are the any plonkers on here who have actually withdrawn their money from NR?

PosterBoy77

I don't think it is wise to label people plonkers who have withdrawn savings from NR. If I had money with NR, I would have done too, but the writing has been on the wall for months, so I have already steered well clear.

Should the worst happen, people like you labelling people plokers would probably call them plonkers for not having taken their money when they still had a chance.

ollyk

I agree, I think all this name-calling of people who are withdrawing funds is a little childish and leads me to suspect they have some sort of vested interest... Shares?
I wouldn't mind leaving a few grand over the £2000 'guarenteed' in my account but if this was my life savings or considerably more I would have been in the queue as soon as I heard the news!
How anyone can call people a plonker for protecting their livelihood is beyond me!

gt94sss2

HankMcSpank wrote: »

I've scoured the press but I'm surprised there don't seem to be any stories about other banks/building societies that might be in a similarly precarious position to the Northern Rock.

As has been said, the mixture of funding sources that Northern Rock use is very different from that of other UK financial institutions with the % of money it raises from the wholesale markets much higher than the others.

Which other banks are exposed to the liquidity crunch?

Northern Rock is most exposed because 73pc of its funding comes from the wholesale market, and the rest from retail deposits. The others with large exposure are Halifax owner HBOS, with 43pc, Bradford & Bingley, at 42pc, and Alliance & Leicester at 38pc. Lloyds TSB has 28pc exposure, Royal Bank of Scotland 17pc, Barclays 10pc while HSBC more than covers its mortgage liabilities with customer deposits. (from here)

Regards
Sunil

Moorepart

HankMcSpank wrote: »

I
I've heard snippets here & there that the Bradford & Bingley, Alliance & Leicester are in a similar funding situation - ie they get their funds from the money markets - as opposed to retail - (& possibly Barclays)...but is anyone here clued up enough to comment?

B and B subprime
A and L mostly prime:rolleyes:

deaglecat

Not sure that A&L should be so re-assured ...the issue at the moment is the ability to borrow which affected NR and also affects others.