Customers queue to enter a Northern Rock

Customers queue to enter a Northern Rock branch in Bromley, in south-east London, 14 September 2007. The Bank of England has stepped in to provide emergency financial support to Britain's fifth-largest mortgage lender Northern Rock, the latest institution to fall victim to market turmoil, officials confirmed Friday. In a statement, the Bank of England's Treasury and Financial Services Authority said: "The Chancellor of the Exchequer has today authorised the Bank of England to provide a liquidity support facility to Northern Rock". The move comes after Northern Rock struggled to raise money to finance its lending amid money market volatility in the last few months linked to the sub-prime mortgage sector in the United States. AFP PHOTO/BEN STANSALL (Photo credit should read BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images)