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Britain’s treasury chief says he wants new, American-style guarantees to protect savers’ money after the Bank of England’s effort to bail out Northern Rock — one of Britain’s biggest mortgage lenders — sparked panic among depositorsCustomers line up to withdraw cash from a Northern Rock branch during the height of the crisis

The announcement is the latest consequence of the crisis afflicting Northern Rock, which has reportedly seen the bank absorb £3 billion ($6 billion) in publicly funded loans and raised questions about how Britain’s banking system is managed.

Treasury chief Alistair Darling told The Times of London he was considering U.S.-style deposit insurance, which would protect customers’ money in the event of their bank’s collapse. He did not give a figure, but The Times quoted him as saying a £100,000 guarantee was a possibility.

Under current regulations, only the first £2,000 of British bank customers’ money is fully guaranteed, while the next £33,000 is guaranteed up to 90 percent. Darling told The Times those protections were inadequate.

Darling and other officials have come under fire for their handling of the crisis, which first became public on September 14 when the Bank of England announced it had made funds available to Northern Rock because the company was having trouble getting loans from other banks still smarting from the collapse of the U.S. subprime mortgage market.

Government officials tried to reassure the public that Northern Rock was still solvent, but worried customers ignored the advice and lined up at the bank’s branches to withdraw their savings as the value of the company’s shares collapsed.

Bank of England Governor Mervyn King came in for further criticism when he announced plans to inject funds into the longer-term money market, a major policy U-turn analysts said could have eased pressure on Northern Rock if made earlier.

Angry lawmakers grilled King on Thursday about why he failed to prevent a run on deposits, and the chairman of the committee investigating the crisis said Darling and other regulators would also be asked to testify.

The Financial Times said Saturday that Northern Rock has so far been forced to borrow about £3 billion in publicly funded loans. Northern Rock Chief Executive Adam Applegarth had previously said his company wanted to borrow substantial sums of money from the Bank of England, but did not say how much.

A Bank of England spokeswoman said the £3 billion figure was speculative.

“What happens is that various commentators have looked at our balance sheets and seen that it’s expanded,” the spokeswoman said, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with bank policy. “They’ve gone and made a supposition out of an expansion in the balance sheet.”

A Northern Rock spokeswoman refused to discuss the report.

“We don’t comment on corporate activity of that nature,” company spokeswoman Jemma Rundle said