London - Nationalized British mortgage lender Northern Rock Thursday withdrew some of its savings products for new clients following a consumer rush on safe placings for their deposits, the bank said.

The measure was aimed at preventing having an unfair advantage from state ownership, it said. British savers have sought out Northern Rock, and more recently other government-backed institutions, as "safe havens" to place their deposits.

These include the Abbey National, in the process of being taken over by Spain's Santander bank, and Bradford & Bingley, whose savings and mortgage business was nationalized last Monday in a deal that saw the bank's "non-toxic" business sold to Santander.

Northern Rock was in danger of exceeding a 1.5-per-cent limit on its share of British retail deposits, the bank said. It said the recent turmoil in financial markets had led to a "sizeable" inflow of deposits, particularly in recent days. (dpa)