Northern Rock — heavy weather, but no shipwreck

Politicians and commentators rail that Northern Rock is an ever-worsening drain on the UK’s public purse. This is true up to a point — loan quality is deteriorating at a worrying pace. But much of the bank’s £585m loss is caused by the Bank of England charging a whopping interest rate on Northern Rock’s £21bn of emergency funding. Taxpayers are getting their money back as fast as could possibly be expected.