IT is clearly a matter of regret that the North-East’s biggest charity, the Northern Rock Foundation, is to close.

The foundation has been a powerful force for good in the region over 16 years, ploughing more than £200m into good causes due to a covenant which ensured that five per cent of Northern Rock’s annual profits were reserved for the good of the community.

It was an extraordinarily generous guarantee – one that perhaps ended up being taken for granted – and the strong feelings which have been evoked by news of its demise are understandable.

But it would also be naive to expect the same level of generosity to continue in the contrasting economic climate which now prevails.

It is a very different world to the one in which Northern Rock operated before it collapsed in 2008 after the first run on a UK bank in 150 years.

Of course, we share the disappointment at the closure of foundation which did such fantastic work, and it is right to question whether promises made at the time of the takeover have been honoured.

But it is an over-reaction to call for customers to boycott the company in protest.

While Virgin Money is not a replica of the Northern Rock model which famously went bust, it is an influential player in the North-East economy.

Virgin Money continues to support good causes and we welcome the company’s public pledge that it will continue to do so.

We must be careful that natural disappointment does not give way to resentment which undermines an important North-East business and employer.