The State owned Northern Rock met with public disapproval yesterday following the announcement that they will spend around £10m to sponsor the Newcastle United football team.
Campaign director of the Taxpayer’s Alliance, Mark Wallace, stated that although he is a fan of Newcastle, the proposal is ridiculous because a bank that needed money from the government should be more focused on repaying the tax payers and not helping out a football team.
Wallace continued to state that even if they planned to spend the £10m on advertising alone there are still better ways to spend the money that would help increase the value of the investment.
The Northern Rock deal is worth around 500 times more than what an average Northern Worker makes, which is £20,000.
In fact, the offer is even more than other football clubs receive and some of those clubs are larger and more successful teams than Newcastle.
For example, yesterday Birmingham City, which is in the Premier League, signed a five year deal valued at about £8m.
The Northern Rock was bailed out in February of 2008 after the panic that caused customers to line up down the street in an attempt to withdraw their money before the bank went bankrupt.
However, chief executive of Northern Rock, Gary Hoffman maintains that the promotion is appropriate because it gives the bank a link to the community, and helps to promote the further development of the institution.