The finance ministers of France and Germany said Tuesday they believed the banking crisis that has gripped British mortgage lender Northern Rock could not happen in their countries. "I don't expect this kind of thing to happen in Germany," Germany's Peer Steinbrueck said.
His French counterpart Christine Lagarde said at a joint press conference that such a scenario was "a completely moot point." Northern Rock ran into difficulties borrowing money in the midst of a global credit squeeze.
Savers have queued outside its branches to withdraw their money and its share price has fallen sharply since it emerged last week that the Bank of England had to step in to help the lender meet its day-to-day financing needs. The crisis appeared to ease on Tuesday and the bank's share price rebounded on a further pledge by the British government to protect savers.