The FTSE 100 fell 0.7 percent on Friday after mortgage lender Northern Rock pulled banks into negative waters as the credit crisis continued to overshadow markets, Reuters reports.
Northern Rock issued a profit warning and was offered an emergency loan from the Bank of England, becoming the biggest British casualty so far of the crisis which has hit global markets.
The bank’s shares plunged 21.75 percent to 500 pence as it said it now expected an underlying 2007 pretax profit of 500 to 540 million pounds, compared with analysts’ current consensus forecast of 647 million.
“I’m not able to tell you the interest rate or the size other than it is clearly substantial,” says Northern Rock CEO Adam Applegarth.
Among fellow lenders, Alliance & Leicester, HBOS and Bradford & Bingley all fell.