The credit crisis spilled onto Britain’s high streets today as worried Northern Rock customers queued up to withdraw their savings. Their fears were prompted by the revelation this morning that Britain’s fifth-biggest mortgage lender had to ask the Bank of England for emergency financial assistance. Earlier in the day, Adam Applegarth, the company’s chief executive, sought to calm the nerves of customers and shareholders alike, but the words appeared to carry little weight with the more than 200 people lining up outside Northern Rock’s branch in Kingston, Surrey.
Chief executive Adam Applegarth declined to give a figure on the loans it has arranged with the Bank of England but said: “It’s clearly a substantial amount because we’ve been using mortgage paper as collateral.”
Others say HSBC’s position in the United States has been felt around the world, thus it is an example. According to profit reports HSBC is very thankful for its Asian business as the U.S. arm is suffering terribly.
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[...] People stood in line in England to withdraw their money from Northern Rock. News from Australia is not much better, where loan defaults rose by almost 30 per cent in the last financial year with failures to pay the bills on time up in every Australian state and territory, figures from the nation’s biggest credit check firm have revealed. [...]