Northern Rock set for more pressure amid calls for calm

Published on Saturday 15 September 2007 11:52

NORTHERN ROCK is expected to remain under pressure from its customers today after the group sought emergency support from the Bank of England.

The bank's 1.5 million savers were urged not to panic after news of the move sparked queues of people anxious to withdraw their savings from branches around the country.

Customers in Edinburgh's Castle Street queued up yesterday to take their money out.

The UK's fifth biggest mortgage lender has been hit by soaring costs in wholesale lending markets, where it borrows cash to fund its mortgage business.

Alongside the emergency funding, the Newcastle-based bank warned it could take a profits hit of nearly 150 million due to the money market turmoil.

The British Bankers' Association urged worried customers to "calm down". It said: "There is absolutely no reason for either mortgage customers or savers to worry."

But some queued for hours to empty their accounts.

Tony Looch, a 68-year-old London saver who queued for nearly two hours at the bank's Moorgate branch in the city, said: "My confidence has been shattered.

"I would not put a penny into that company again."