When Is A £2 Billion Loss A Cracking Return?

That will be Northern Rock.   The National Audit Office has estimated that the government will ultimately lose around £2 billion on the privatisation / unwinding of Northern Rock. This is an outstanding return……it could and should have been a far bigger loss.   The government (on our behalf) is expected to get back all the cash it put into the bank (around £37 billion). What it won't get back is enough to compensate for the loss of any money we could have made or savings we could have created on that £37 billion.   That £2 billion is probably a price that was worth paying in real terms……it prevented a banking collapse that would have been unthinkable and not repairable.   So that leaves just one question……who do I pop over to see to get our £2 billion back?   Mervyn King? Alastair Darling? A whip round from the banking sector as a whole? The FSA?   This list goes on……