Northern Rock was a British bank, owned and operated by Virgin Money. It was based at Regent Centre in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom. During 2012 the Northern Rock brand was phased out and replaced by Virgin. Northern Rock was best known for becoming the first bank in 150 years to suffer a bank run after having had to approach the Bank of England for a loan facility, to replace money market funding, during the credit crisis in 2007. Having failed to find a commercial buyer for the business, it was taken into public ownership in 2008, and was then bought by Virgin Money in 2012.
Formerly the Northern Rock Building Society, the bank was formed in 1997 when the society floated on the London Stock Exchange (with the ticker symbol NRK). Since 1 January 2010 when it was split into a 'good' and a 'bad' bank, the "Northern Rock" name has referred to two companies – this bank, Northern Rock, and a separate asset company, Northern Rock (Asset Management) plc.
Read more about Northern Rock: History, Operations, Location, Corporate Image, Board of Directors, Sponsorship, Northern Rock Foundation, Subprime Mortgage Crisis and Nationalisation
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—Flannery O’Connor (1925–1964)
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—Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1466–1536)