Britain's government has appointed US investment bank Goldman Sachs to advise it on Northern Rock, a source close to the Treasury said.
The bank is advising the UK Treasury on matters relating to a guarantee safeguarding existing deposits at Northern Rock, the source said.
Northern Rock customers queue outside the bank last week. Goldman Sachs is to advise the UK Treasury on safeguarding deposits at the bank.
The government last week guaranteed the lender's deposits, leaving it closely involved with the bank's future options. Those options have narrowed as the bank appears unlikely to attract a takeover offer from one of its major domestic rivals.
Matt Ridley, Northern Rock's chairman, said in a letter sent to MPs late last night that the bank remained "profitable and sound, with assets well in excess of liabilities".
Northern Rock has been engulfed in crisis since the Bank of England stepped in to offer emergency funding on September 14th as the "lender of last resort", sparking the first run on the deposits of a major British bank for more than 140 years.
Less than 10 per cent of accounts have been closed since the crisis began, however, and savers had been returning, Mr Ridley said in his letter, adding the bank had not lent recklessly.
The bank's priority "is to find the best way forward for our customers, our shareholders and our staff," Mr Ridley said. Politicians have criticised the bank's plan to pay £60 million to shareholders in dividend.