The Newcastle-based lender, which was bailed out by the Bank of England last year and nationalised in February, wants to increase its debt management team from 176 to 444 by next March, according to an internal memo sent to staff by the bank and the Unite union.

Northern Rock has warned that arrears have more than doubled since the end of last year, sparking fears of a surge in repossessions. The Govern­ment-appointed chairman, Ron Sand­­ler, plans to halve the mortgage book to £50billion.

The proposed transfers come as the bank prepares to lay off 2,000 of its 5,500 workforce during the next three years. Northern Rock said the memo was designed to update staff as part of its 90-day consultation process with trade unions.

“We are ­committed to strengthening controls and processes,” a spokeswoman said.

“Debt management is one of the areas where this is going to occur.”