Nationalisation of Northern Rock In October 2008 the chairman Ron Sandler noted that there had been informal talks concerning the idea of the merger with the government, but there had been no subsequent discussion. Sandler did however add "It would not surprise me at some point if a closer look was taken at the method of managing loan books within government-owned banks". In March 2009 Alistair Darling said that he was keeping his options open during the "fast-moving" crisis in the banking industry, and thus not ruling out the possibility of a mortgage book merger between Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley. On 24
Nationalisation of Northern Rock Granite, together with an ongoing obligation to continue to supply business. Failure to maintain the arrangement could cost a reported £5 billion. As is common practice in bank securitisations, Granite was set up as a charitable trust with any residue on winding-up to benefit a small charity, Down's Syndrome North East. Despite having assets worth an estimated £45 billion, Granite has never made a donation to the charity, because it remains in business. In late 2008, Northern Rock, advised by Credit Suisse, decided to let Granite go into run-off, meaning that Northern Rock the bank will no longer supply it