 A sudden downturn in house prices and increases in interest rates well before the November 1973 oil crisis left the smaller institutions holding many loans secured by property with lower value than the loans.The Bank of England, led by Jasper Hollom, conducted negotiations resulting in bail-outs of around 30 of the smaller banks and intervened to assist some 30 others.While all of the banks were left able to pay depositors, the Bank of England lost an estimated £100 million.