The Capitalist: Under the Weather

“The first book to pick over the scraps of the Northern Rock disaster is here and it has been written by someone who was actually in the thick of things. ‘The Fall Of Northern Rock: An Insider’s Story Of Britain’s Biggest Banking Disaster’ (published by Harriman House) is by former Northern Rock commercial finance division manager Brian Walters, and yes, there are a few juicy titbits in there, transcribed internal emails and all.

The Capitalist’s favourite part, though? The bit where Walters blames the run on Northern Rock on the weather. “One might suppose that if it had been raining that particular weekend, many of the savers who had queued up to withdraw small sums might not have bothered,” he hypothesises. “However, the weather was lovely.””