Rock says 25-30 bln pounds of mortgages renew in 2008

LONDON (Reuters) - Northern Rock expects between 25 billion and 30 billion pounds of mortgages to come up for renewal or shift onto a higher rate deal this year, its new executive chairman said.

Northern Rock aims to shrink its mortgage book to 50 billion pounds by the end of 2011 from 107 billion now, largely by redeeming mortgages of customers when they come up for renewal.

Executive Chairman Ron Sandler told reporters on a conference call it is considering working with other lenders that might be interested in taking on Northern Rock customers when their current deals expire.

(Reporting by Steve Slater; Editing by Paul Bolding)