NRock prepares for more repossessions

Northern Rock is planning to double staff numbers at its debt management department, suggesting the nationalised bank is expecting repossessions and arrears to increase.

The plans were revealed as part of a document, leaked to BBC Newcastle, outlining the bank’s proposals to cut around 2,000 jobs over the next three years.

According to the BBC, the firm had 176 full-time staff in its debt management arm at the end of April.

Northern Rock plans to increase this number to 444 by the end of March 2009, before cutting staff numbers down to 282 by the end of 2011.

The leaked memo also revealed the bank will not be cutting staff numbers in its savings division, but the number of staff dealing with lending will fall from 1,152 to just 369 by 2011.

The increase in debt management staff suggest Northern Rock’s management expects a significant increase in the number of borrowers struggling to meet their mortgage payments. The Council of Mortgage Lenders predicts repossessions will rise to over 40,000 in 2008.

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