Nationalised mortgage lender Northern Rock expects to be responsible for 10% of all repossessions this year as it races to repay its loan from the taxpayer and tries to return to the private sector, The Guardian reports.
At a hearing with the Treasury select committee of MPs, senior executives from Northern Rock said they were working on an industry-wide solution for mortgage "forbearance" to help customers at risk of losing their home through new "mortgage rescue packages". Gary Hoffman, the new chief executive, admitted some customers were in such difficulty that they handed back the keys to their homes without discussion with the lender. One third of all the homes it had repossessed were "voluntary", said Hoffman. "Everyone of these I will regret," said Hoffman, who was hired from Barclays on a £700,...
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