Britain nationalises Northern Rock bank
Britain's ailing mortgage lender Northern Rock, hit by a global credit crunch, is now in public hands, the government said Friday after announcing it had acquired all the bank's shares.
Parliament passed a bill late on Thursday after a brief tussle between the upper and lower houses of parliament, clearing the way for the first official British nationalisation since the 1970s.
The Banking (Special Provisions) Act 2008 received Royal Assent at 0001 GMT Friday, a formal procedure putting it on the statute books.
Members of Britain's unelected upper House of Lords threatened to stall the legislation by opposing the bank's exemption from freedom of information laws and pushing for an independent audit of the firm after three months.
But they dropped their demands, allowing the bill to clear parliament.
The government takeover paves the way for a compensation scheme to be set up for Northern Rock shareholders, under which an independent valuer will be appointed to decide on the level of payout.
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