Reuters – The government is considering injecting as much as 10 billion pounds into Northern Rock to use the nationalised bank to ramp up mortgage lending, the Daily Telegraph reported.

The Treasury has yet to make a final decision on the plan, which may also see the bank hiring new staff, the newspaper reported in its Friday edition.

Spokesmen for the Treasury and Northern Rock, which is due to unveil a new business plan in the next few weeks, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Northern Rock became the first British casualty of the credit crunch in September 2007 when the bank, heavily dependent on wholesale markets for its funding, revealed that it had been forced to seek emergency support from the Bank of England.

The bank was nationalised in early 2008 after attempts to find a private sector buyer fell through.

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