Bank owners eye swoop for Northern Rock

YORKSHIRE Bank owner National Australia Bank (NAB) is reported to be sounding out advisers over a possible bid for nationalised Northern Rock.

Reports state that the company has held a "beauty parade" of potential investment banking advisers to advise it on the auction of the lender.

Last month NAB said it was ready to spearhead further consolidation in the UK banking sector.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The group, which has long harboured growth ambitions in the UK, could swoop on Northern Rock or buy assets put up for sale by part-nationalised rivals Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group.

NAB is understood to have seen several investment banks including Lazard, Citigroup, CSFB and Morgan Stanley.

The Australian bank is looking to become a major player as Northern Rock is returned to the private sector and Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group are forced to sell off hundreds of branches in a shake-up of the UK banking industry.

At the beginning of the year, Northern Rock was split into a "good bank" with about 19bn in savings and 10bn of mortgages, and a "bad bank" – Northern Rock Asset Management – which has been left with the majority of the lender's loan book.