RBS, Lloyds, Standard Life and Clydesdale Bank have said that they will shift their headquarters to London if Scotland leaves the UK.
Lloyds said that these contingency plans include “the establishment of new legal entities in England” but “there would be no immediate changes or issues which could affect our business or our customers.”
The contingency plans have seemingly been issued to calm nervous investors who do not yet know what to expect from an independent Scotland. Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England, has estimated that, should it leave the UK, Scotland would need to find over £100bn to build up its banking reserves. Standard & Poor’s, the rating agency, has said that, as things stand, the country would be unable weather another financial crisis.
However, other industry figures such as Martin Gilbert, head of Aberdeen Asset Management, have hinted that the financial scaremongering tactics have gone too far and that a thriving independent state is viable.
