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 appointed Moelis & Company as advisers for the divestments. In September and October 2009 various groups of people, including the Building Societies Association, called for the Northern Rock to be remutualised. Treasury minister Sarah McCarthy-Fry said that the idea of mutualisation had not been ruled out. The Northern Rock Building Society had previously been de-mutualised in 1997, to become a bank. In the Labour Party's 2010 Manifesto there was a mention of a possible "mutual solution" for Northern Rock. The Liberal Democrat's Manifesto noted that the party would have turned Northern Rock into a building society. On 1 February it