Nigel Terrington did not go university, preferring instead to go straight from his school in Wimbledon into banking. A spell at Charterhouse, the old UK venture capital house, was followed by time as a corporate financier at UBS.

In 1987 Mr Terrington joined Paragon, trading under its old name National Home Loans, where he worked in mortgage-backed securities. National Home Loans lent to the sub-prime market before Britain had got used to the term for lending to those with poor credit histories. The company expanded rapidy during the property boom of the late 1980s but nearly went bust during the 1991 recession. Its funders at the time, mainly banks and local authorities, cancelled funding arrangements.

In a forerunner of today’s fiasco surrounding Northern Rock, the Bank of England had to organise emergency funding for National Home Loans’ banking operation. Top management was cleared out and Mr Terrington was promoted to finance director in 1992, alongside a new chief executive, Jonathan Perry. In 1995 Mr Terrington stepped up to the chief executive role, moved the business out of sub-prime lending, relaunching it as a buy-to-let lender, renaming itself Paragon in the process.

Releasing an upbeat trading statement two months ago, Mr Terrington asked the City: “Where’s the panic, guys?” He insisted that Paragon was not another Northern Rock waiting to happen as doubts first began to emerge about its long-term funding arrangements. He kept up the argument yesterday, even as the company faces a crucial three months that will decide the company’s future. The City took fright over its long-term funding position and its share price halved.

Mr Terrington, 47, is married with four children and lives in Surrey.

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