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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FINalternatives- Godvig Capital’s Iraq-focused Babylon Fund finished May up 2.7%, bringing its year-to-date gains to 5.2%.

The fund’s portfolio included stakes in hotels, banks and breweries last month, according to portfolio manager Björn Englund, who said he has been solicited to take on board seats but has refrained from doing so.

“Our board policy stays for now, but might have to change in the future,” he said.

Last month, Englund said he continued to slowly add to the portfolio’s Iraq Stock Exchange exposure because of the “sizable inflow” into the fund, and intends to soft close the fund later this year “should assets rise faster than our target.”

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