Northern Rock was/is UK's largest mortgage writer. It too is under the Basel II accord. But with leverge at an incredible 58:1 it went bust 4 months ago...... never IMO to return. So having 7-8% is not sufficient. When mkt trend moves against lenders they are in dire straits.
Hence, banks are currently demanding on mortgage deposits of 25%+. Compare that with 12 months ago when no deposit was required!
