Northern Rock chief exec resigns

LONDON, England (CNN) -- The chief executive of the troubled British bank Northern Rock resigned Friday, the bank confirmed.

Adam Applegarth will leave by the end of January, by which time the bank is expected to have found either a buyer or secured funding to remain independent, a process Applegarth will assist in, the bank said in a written statement.

"Adam's participation in the next phase of the strategic review is important," said Bryan Sanderson, the new Northern Rock chairman, "not least due to his extensive knowledge of the business and his ability to lead the process during this difficult period."

Applegarth joined the bank as a graduate from university and has never worked anywhere else. He was appointed chief executive in 2001.

The bank also announced that four non-executive directors -- Sir Derek Wanless, Nichola Pease, Adam Fenwick and Rosemary Radcliffe -- are stepping down, effective immediately.

Northern Rock's investment strategy has left it especially vulnerable to the fallout from the U.S. sub-prime mortgage crisis, and panicked investors withdrew more than $4 billion when Northern Rock -- Britain's fifth-largest mortgage lender -- sought and received an emergency loan from the Bank of England in September.

Britain's first bank run in more than a century led to the departure of Matt Ridley, the bank's chairman, on Oct. 19.

Takeover speculation has also been ripe since the mortgage crisis erupted over the summer. A consortium led by Richard Branson's Virgin Group announcing last month it had submitted an initial takeover proposal to the bank.

Friday's resignations came as the Virgin Group issued a statement giving further details of its bid for Northern Rock, including that it intends to repay a "significant proportion" of the bank's loan from the government immediately.

The bank, based in the northeast England city of Newcastle, has so far borrowed around .20 billion ($40 billion) from the Bank of England. E-mail to a friend