Corporate Profile
Northern Rock Building Society was formed on 1 July 1965 as a result of the merger of Northern Counties Permanent Building Society (established in 1850) and Rock Building Society (established in 1865). Northern Rock Building Society then merged with a number of small local building societies and, prior to its conversion to a public limited company in October 1997, was an amalgamation of 53 societies.
On 1 October 1997, Northern Rock converted from a building society to a public limited company, listed on the London Stock Exchange and authorised under the Banking Act 1987. The conversion also resulted in the establishment of The Northern Rock Foundation, an independent charitable body whose current objectives are to tackle disadvantage and to improve quality of life in the North East and Cumbria.
In February 2008, Northern Rock was taken into temporary public ownership. The Northern Rock Foundation has been guaranteed a minimum income of £15 million per year in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
Northern Rock is regulated by the Financial Services Authority.