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Banking (Special Provisions) Bill

I am sorry to come in again, but the noble Lord, Lord Eatwell, mentioned the way in which things have moved so fast and changed. We were brought up with mortgages being for 25 or 30 years; I do not know how many people are aware that the average life of a mortgage today is three years. I see that the noble Lord agrees with me. Things are moving quickly, yet I cannot but reinforce what the noble Lord, Lord Lawson, has said: we do not understand what is going on with Granite. Just today we have read in the press that another major bank is walking away from its SIV and losing several billion pounds. Northern Rock has money invested in Granite; Northern Rock in effect controls Granite, because it consolidates it in its group accounts. How can one say that no money has been transferred to Granite when mortgages have been sold to Granite that have to be serviced? The money has to be passed through; otherwise, Granite collapses. I do not think that we have a full understanding of this at all. Without a full understanding of over £40 billion and something that is consolidated into the accounts of Northern Rock, I seriously do not see how we can proceed with confidence.