Sale of Northern Rock recommended
Deutsche Bank carried out a review of options available for the nationalised bank and recommended that a straight sale was the most cost effective way for the Government to relinquish control, The Observer said.
UK Financial Investments, the body that oversees the Government’s stakes in rescued banks, and which commissioned Deutsche Bank, has now recommended to the Treasury it sell the bank.
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Hide AdTreasury officials said the Chancellor, George Osborne, will now make a decision on the future of the Newcastle-based bank, though this will not necessarily mean an immediate sale.
The bank was split into two after it was nationalised in 2008. The part now being considered for sale is the “good” arm consisting of its retail savings base and about 70 branches.
Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Money and building societies Coventry and Yorkshire are said to be interested in bidding for it.