The closest parallel to the rescue of Northern Rock is the secondary banking crisis which erupted at the end of 1973 and which brought down a whole string of so-called "secondary" banks. That financial crisis, like this one, was preceded by a long period of low interest rates, low risk premiums and ample liquidity. In that crisis, also, what were already called the "new" inter-bank money markets played a large role - many of the secondary banks funded themselves, like Northern