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 maturities set inline with the repayment. Proceeds from the bond issue would have also gone to the Government and the bank would have paid for a government guarantee for the bonds to trade in the market at or near prices of similar gilt-edged stocks. This would have replaced the original plan for the bidders to have to find their own investors to cover the first £15bn, which proved impossible, due to the credit crunch. The government would also continue to guarantee the Bank's liabilities, such as savers' deposits. On 17 February 2008, Alistair Darling, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced