Government plans to split and sell state-owned Northern Rock have met with mixed reaction.

The plan is to create a new savings and mortgage bank, called Northern Rock Plc, which will take deposits and offer savings and home loans.

The second part will become Northern Rock Asset Management, holding existing mortgages and unsecured loans, and closed to new lending.

The Chief Secretary to the Treasury Stephen Timms, speaking on Wednesday after European regulators gave clearance for Northern Rock to be broken up, said it was still the government’s intention to sell both arms of Northern Rock, saying it would maximise taxpayers’ gains.

The bank received billions of pounds in state aid and deposit guarantees.

One camp believes that rather than being sold, the bank should be turned into a mutual owned by its customers, while another camp thinks it’s fine to sell it off as a publicly listed company.

What would be best for taxpayers?