Abstract

Northern Rock is an exemplary case of liabilities management, funding risk and market liquidity risk. The bank's failure was motivated by its vulnerability vis-à-vis the unexpected behaviour of the wholesale funders and by the unforeseeable shutdown of the market for mortgage backed securities. The depositors' run followed the announcement of the Bank of England liquidity support. The bank's crisis was in no way related to the bank's profitability or its asset quality: both were generally deemed good and its capitalization exceeded regulatory requirements. The case study draws deeply on financial statement information and key testimonies collected by the Treasure Committee.