British bank Northern Rock turned down an offer of £500 million in funding from US investment bank JPMorgan that could have eased its liquidity problems, the Daily Telegraphsaid today.
Northern Rock called on its top relationship banks just after it offered a profit warning on June 27th, but it opted to reject the offer of help from JPMorgan, the newspaper said.
It said the loan offer would have been part of a wider funding solution proposed by the US bank.
Northern Rock has been engulfed in a funding and customer confidence crisis since the Bank of England stepped in as a "lender of last resort" a week ago.