Northern Rock became the first major British bank to suffer a run in the internet age in 2007.
The Newcastle-based bank had grown rapidly through mortgage lending funded substantially by wholesale markets. When global credit markets tightened during the financial crisis, that funding model became difficult to maintain.
In September 2007, customers began withdrawing money from branches and through online banking. Images of queues outside branches made the event a powerful symbol of the crisis. The Bank of England provided emergency support, and the British government guaranteed deposits to help stop the panic.
Northern Rock was taken into public ownership in February 2008. It was later divided into a “good bank” and a residual asset-management business, and the banking business was eventually sold to Virgin Money in 2012. The episode influenced later bank-resolution and depositor-protection policies.