It was held up by politicians two years ago as a model for economic revival for others in Europe. Now England's northeast is a frontline for the impact of a credit crisis that began in California.
Northern Rock, a flagship bank based in the city of Newcastle with roots as a mortgage provider going back more than 150 years, hit world headlines in September when it suffered Britain's first bank-run in more than a century, and people in the city are worried for their futures.
At its worst, the crisis that showed hundreds of customers queuing to withdraw savings made Britain look like "a banana republic", according to the business lobby group the Confederation for British Industry.
Four months on, the British Bankers' Association said a solution was needed as quickly as possible to prevent lasting damage to the banking reputation, not only of London but also of other British financial centres.
Standing in the rain outside a shareholders' meeting last week in Newcastle - known to many Britons for the loyalty of its soccer fans and its lost glory as a coal port - people worried about the looming effects of the bank's near-collapse.
"It's been a bit of a kick in the teeth for the northeast," said David Fulton, who owns 30,000 Northern Rock shares and stood in the drizzle to voice support for the bank's staff.
Britain unveiled a financing package this week that should secure a private-sector rescue of the bank, but will leave the government underpinning its finances for years to come.
The bank's debt to the state of 24 billion pounds ($47 billion) - just over $1,500 for each taxpayer in the country - hangs over the area, while Northern Rock's 6,200 staff fear for their jobs, and the significant charitable contributions it has made to the region are starting to dry up.
About 180,000 small investors lost thousands of pounds as the bank's share price crashed by more than 90 percent, but people at the meeting were more worried about work in an area that had for years struggled as global rivals undercut British industry.
"The northeast has experienced major job losses in the past, but this is different. It's occurring in a growing sector of the economy, not what people said in the past were declining sectors," said Jim Cousins, Labour member of parliament for the city on the banks of the River Tyne.
FUNDING CUT
Some enterprises are already feeling the squeeze: a foundation that, since the bank's stock floated in 1997, has handed out 5 percent of Northern Rock's profits has started closing down grant programmes.
The Northern Rock Foundation has received 190 million pounds in the past decade and it handed out 30 million last year. Its 2008 budget is down to just 7 million pounds and four of its seven grant programmes have been closed.
