Rock repays £1bn more to taxpayers

The group formed from Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley's toxic loans has paid back another £1bn in taxpayer cash this year after ramping up its debt repayments.

Northern Rock Asset Management (NRAM) – split from the "good" part of nationalised Northern Rock in January – has repaid £700m in the past three months alone after returning to profit in the first half.

NRAM clawed its way out of the red in the first half, with underlying pre-tax profits of £167m against losses of £244m a year earlier. The group said this trend has continued into the second half of the year. It has also completed the merger with the nationalised arm of Bradford & Bingley. NRAM still owes the state more than £20bn.