 In 2007, Virgin made a bid to acquire the Northern Rock bank; this initial bid failed.In an interview with "The Times" on 9 March 2009, Branson stated that he still hoped that Virgin Money would expand its operations into the banking sector, saying "We are going to get back into the mortgage business and we will become a bank either by acquisition or by getting our own banking licence.You will see us become a consumer bank within the next couple of years."