Editing Matt Ridley (section)

===Northern Rock, 1994–2007===
In 1994, Ridley became a board member of the UK bank [[Northern Rock]]. His father had been a board member for 30 years, and chairman from 1987 to 1992. Ridley became chairman in 2004.<ref>''The Times'', 19 September 2007 [https://web.archive.org/web/20110612054821/http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article2485366.ece Northern Rock chairman gives chief full backing]</ref>

In September 2007, Northern Rock became the first British bank since 1878 to suffer a run on its finances, at the start of the [[2008 financial crisis]]. The bank applied to the [[Bank of England]] for emergency liquidity funding at the beginning of the crisis,<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=15 September 2007 |access-date=12 March 2010 |title=Credit Crisis Hits Lender in Britain |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/15/business/worldbusiness/15mortgage.html?_r=1&ref=business |first=Eric |last=Pfanner}}</ref> but failed, and [[nationalisation of Northern Rock|Northern Rock was nationalised]]. Ridley resigned as chairman in October 2007.<ref name=whoswho/><ref name="International Herald Tribune">{{cite news |date=19 October 2007 |title=Northern Rock chairman quits after criticism from lawmakers |newspaper=International Herald Tribune |url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/10/19/business/rock.php |access-date=17 February 2008}}</ref> A parliamentary committee criticised him for not recognising the risks of the bank's financial strategy and "harming the reputation of the [[British banking industry]]".<ref name="International Herald Tribune"/>