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Northern Rock  has announced that it will lend around £5bn each year over the next 4 or 5 years.Ron Sandler this morning said he regards this strategy as sufficient to retain Northern Rock presence in the mortgage market.

He stated “We are going to continue to lend money but at nothing like the levels we were doing in the first half of 2007.”

Northern Rock today announced its full year results for 2007, which showed a £167m loss for the year and plans to increase its retail deposits, while not operating too competitively with state-backed products.

Sandler says: “We are determined not to compete on an unfair basis. There’s a difference between not competing unfairly and not competing at all.

“We think we have achieved the right balance here. We want to increase our retail deposit base while at the same time restricting the extent to which we compete.”

He adds: “We have conducted research into attitudes towards Northern Rock. There is a steady stream of savers returning and because of the products and servers we offer, we are confident that we can modestly grow our retail deposits.”

Sandler refused to be drawn into voicing his opinion on whether former chief executive Adam Applegarth deserved his severance package of £785,000