EU to approve Northern Rock sale, reports

28th Oct 2009 07:23

The European Commission is expected to approve plans to break up and sell Northern Rock, according to press reports.The government hopes to sell the viable part of Northern Rock ahead of next year's general election.The Independent is quoting a British Government sources as saying that ministers were 'determined' to see more competition in the market.'We are keen to see greater competition in the banking sector as soon as possible,' the person told the paper.Part-nationalised lenders Lloyds Banking and Royal Bank of Scotland will also be broken up over the next three to five years, the paper adds.Meanwhile, the Telegraph reports that the government could clawback as much as £1.5bn of taxpayers' cash if the sale of Northern Rock assets goes ahead.