RBS and Lloyds have both said that if Scotland declares independence, they will move their registered offices to England.
The British nationalists have seized on this as a reason to vote no to independence but actually, what problem does this cause? Lloyds is already headquartered in London but employees a disproportionate number of staff in Scotland. RBS has relocated a large number of jobs from England to Scotland since the English taxpayer bailed them out. Both banks have restated their commitment to keeping as much of their operations as is possible in Scotland regardless of where their registered offices are.
Both banks have cited currency and credit rating uncertainty in their decision to move their registration to England if Scotland declares independence but both have omitted to mention the real reason: EU law says that they have to have their registered office in the country in which they do the majority of their business and that’s England for both banks. If RBS and Lloyds want a UK banking licence they’ll have to comply with EU banking law and that means registering in England. If they didn’t move their registered office to England and Scotland joined the EU then they would have to move their registered office to England to comply with EU banking law.
I don’t doubt that both banks are concerned about the implications of a Scottish currency and the impact on credit ratings but as most of their holdings would be held in sterling and most of their business transacted in the rump UK it shouldn’t really make that much difference but again, EU banking law requires them to be risk averse. The fact that both banks are part-owned by the British Treasury undoubtedly comes with a heap of pressure from the British government to support their position.
The bottom line is, if RBS and Lloyds move their registered offices to England it will have no real effect on Scotland. The number of Scottish jobs are almost certain to remain the same, as is the rate of job transfers from England to Scotland.
English nationalists do not write or speak of the ‘rump’ ‘U’K. When the ‘United’ Kingdom is dissolved what is going to be left is England and the Celtic dependencies.
England is not the rump of anywhere. Wales and Northern Ireland may end up as the rump UK, that is not England’s future.
Hi Wonko
I disagree, I think it’s going to make a huge difference.
I think the mistake is to assume that facts might influence decisions rather than fear. Financial investors are notorious for being easily influenced by doubt and scare tactics.
If the financial markets slump after the only opinion poll that gives independence a slight lead, what do you think they will do if Scotland gets independence and the banks “leave”?
The whole point of leaking the story in the first place was just to cause a bit of last minute panic and intimidate voters.
I am not sure I would agree with the perverted term “British nationalists”. There is no nation on earth called Britain, only a failed block called the United kingdom of Great Britain.
I say England and Scotland and Wales should all have the pound, not sterling as administered by the occult Bank of England. But an international pound decreed by national democracies so as to overcome the curse of national debt. The likes of Lloyds and RBS will have to come and grovel to the public then, and not the hidden forces behind the Bank of England.
The whole global banking system is a fraud, and this is a problem which transends the referendum. As for the “EU” and their bullshit, if you take them seriously, it wont be long before they will make the banks register them selves on planet Jupiter.
If you want to help England and the rest of the world, join the campaign for the Bradbury pound, for the principal of corruption free banking for all.