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This paper aims to examine the influence of neoliberalist deregulation on the rash of demutualisations of the 1990s. It explores the extent to which the demutualisation of two building societies – Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley – and their subsequent demise in the wake of the credit crunch exemplify key features of the neoliberalist experiment, with a particular focus on their post-mutualisation business models. The paper argues that the demutualisation of Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley was part of a broader neoliberal movement which had processes of financialisation at its centre. By converting into banks, former building societies gained greater access to wholesale borrowing, to new types of investors and to the unrestricted use of financial instruments such as securitisation. The collapse of Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley is interpreted in the light of their access to these new sources of funding and their use of financial instruments which were either unavailable for, or antithetical to, the operation of mutual societies., Este artículo tiene como objetivo examinar la influencia de la desregulación neoliberal en el brote de desmutualizaciones que tuvieron lugar en los años noventa. Explora hasta qué punto la desmutualización de dos sociedades de crédito o cajas de ahorros - Northern Rock y Bradford & Bingley- y su consiguiente desaparición, en la estela de la contracción del crédito, ejemplifican características clave del experimento neoliberal, con un énfasis particular en sus modelos de negocio posteriores a dicha desmutualización. En el artículo se argumenta que la desmutualización de Northern Rock y Bradford & Bingley formó parte de un movimiento neoliberal más amplio que tenía como centro a los procesos de financiarización. Al convertirlos en bancos, las antiguas cajas de ahorros consiguieron un acceso mayor a préstamos en los mercados financieros, a nuevos tipos de inversores y a un uso sin restricciones de instrumentos financieros como las titulizaciones. El colapso de Northern Rock y Bradford & Bingley será interpretado a la luz de su acceso a estas nuevas fuentes de financiación y su uso de unos instrumentos financieros que o bien no habían estado disponibles, o eran antitéticos para las operaciones de las cajas de ahorros.

This thesis offers a detailed analysis of the politics of neoliberalism and financialization in the context of the UK mortgage market. The analysis addresses an often implied but conceptually and empirically neglected feature in the otherwise booming social sciences literature on financial markets and the global financial crisis: how political struggles shape economic space. It does this against the background of the construction of the UK mortgage market which, as opposed to its American counterpart, is still underresearched. The thesis addresses these shortcomings by engaging the theory of Ernesto Laclau and the associated logics approach of the Essex School of Political Discourse Theory. It provides a detailed genealogical analysis of the transformations in the mortgage market during the three decades leading up to the financial crisis emphasising the significance of hegemonic struggles and ideology in its constitution. Empirically, the thesis investigates the transformation of the mortgage market from a ‘sheltered circuit’ dominated by a building society price cartel in the 1970s to a sphere that is increasingly driven by global financial markets. It is argued that at the heart of these transformations was the neo-liberalist deregulation in the name of the signifier ‘freedom’ which, in the neoliberalist age, became almost exclusively equated with ‘free markets’. The demutualisations of the 1990s are presented as an outcome of neoliberalist deregulation leading to a fundamental shift of power in the market. In return for improved access to capital markets and powered by ideological discourses, the demutualisation of 10 societies resulted in a massive transfer of mortgage assets to the stock market and contributed significantly to the financialization of mortgages. The struggles and resistance surrounding these events illustrate their contingent nature. However, the proposed re-mutualisation of Northern Rock had been squandered amidst a re-affirmation of neolibera

This thesis offers a detailed analysis of the politics of neoliberalism and financialization in the context of the UK mortgage market. The analysis addresses an often implied but conceptually and empirically neglected feature in the otherwise booming social sciences literature on financial markets and the global financial crisis: how political struggles shape economic space. It does this against the background of the construction of the UK mortgage market which, as opposed to its American counterpart, is still underresearched. The thesis addresses these shortcomings by engaging the theory of Ernesto Laclau and the associated logics approach of the Essex School of Political Discourse Theory. It provides a detailed genealogical analysis of the transformations in the mortgage market during the three decades leading up to the financial crisis emphasising the significance of hegemonic struggles and ideology in its constitution. Empirically, the thesis investigates the transformation of the mortgage market from a ‘sheltered circuit’ dominated by a building society price cartel in the 1970s to a sphere that is increasingly driven by global financial markets. It is argued that at the heart of these transformations was the neo-liberalist deregulation in the name of the signifier ‘freedom’ which, in the neoliberalist age, became almost exclusively equated with ‘free markets’. The demutualisations of the 1990s are presented as an outcome of neoliberalist deregulation leading to a fundamental shift of power in the market. In return for improved access to capital markets and powered by ideological discourses, the demutualisation of 10 societies resulted in a massive transfer of mortgage assets to the stock market and contributed significantly to the financialization of mortgages. The struggles and resistance surrounding these events illustrate their contingent nature. However, the proposed re-mutualisation of Northern Rock had been squandered amidst a re-affirmation of neolibera