Banking Bill

The hon. Gentleman makes a valid point. The search for a potential private sector solution to Northern Rock was a long and drawn-out process, and the Government reached their conclusions on the success of that. I am not saying that rescuing a failed bank means hawking it round the market in its entirety, in the way that Northern Rock perhaps was, because that could be detrimental to any solution. I am just saying that we should ask whether there is a private sector solution, rather than instinctively saying, ““Let's bung it in a bridge bank,”” or, ““Let's put it into temporary public ownership.”” We are trying to ensure that the private sector solution is there in the authorities' thought processes when they look at a failed institution, given that it is potentially the best solution. If that was not feasible in the time scale, it would be right to look at other options. When the Executive took over Bradford & Bingley, they thought that it was possible to transfer the business bit very quickly, through a private sector solution, and we are now left with a so-called bad bank and its mortgage loan book.