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 soundness," the FSA said. The British Bankers' Association (BBA), the UK banking body, agreed. In May 2009 the "Financial Times" reported that banking regulators had been examining "war games" as early as 2004, which dealt with possible turmoil in the mortgage markets. HBOS and Northern Rock are thought to have featured in these predictions. Commencing in October 2007, the All Party Commons Treasury Select Committee undertook a report into the failure of Northern Rock. The Committee held several televised meetings, in which they called witnesses from the former Board of Northern Rock, the Bank of England, the Treasury, and the