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ROYAL BANK OF Scotland has confirmed that it will move its registered offices to England if Scotland votes for independence from Britain in next week’s referendum.
In a statement the state-owned lender said that in the event of a “Yes” vote in the historic poll on September 18, “RBS believes it would be necessary to re-domicile the Bank’s holding company and its primary rated operating entity to England”.
RBS, bailed out by the British government following the 2008 financial crisis, joins state-rescued Lloyds Banking Group in announcing plans on possibly switching key operations to England from Scotland.
“In response to press speculation in relation to re-domicile, The Royal Bank of Scotland Group confirms that… there are a number of material uncertainties arising from the Scottish referendum vote which could have a bearing on the Bank’s credit ratings, and the fiscal, monetary, legal and regulatory landscape to which it is subject,” RBS said in its statement.
For this reason, RBS has undertaken contingency planning for the possible business implications of a ‘Yes’ vote. RBS believes that this is the responsible and prudent thing to do and something that its customers, staff and shareholders would expect it to do.
The Royal Bank of Scotland is 81% owned by the British state after it was rescued with £45.5 billion (€57 billion) of taxpayer money during the global financial crisis in the world’s biggest ever bank bailout.
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Is this supposed to scare the Scots? Getting rid of a toxic bailed out bank would sway me to a yes vote if I was undecided
Do you honestly believe that?
Scotland losing it’s financial sector and the thousands of jobs and a enormous amount tax revenue equal would be a bad thing. Britain made a small loss on their bank bailout but gets large amounts of tax from them each year. Not defending the banks, just saying them leaving is an issue for the government as they lose a lot of revenue.
David, the bank would not leave Scotland, the registered office would merely be redomiciled, big difference, jobs would not be lost. At present RBS pay their taxes to HMRC anyway.
Sure but likely the tax would be paid in the UK as they would be a UK registered bank. The staff might stay in Scotland but I expect they would actually be moved down to London for a bunch of reasons. They aren’t saying that because it would be seen as political if they did.
They can’t lie about something they are clearly have to do but they don’t need to tell people about something they would probably do and piss them off.
I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see. I wouldn’t be surprised if Scotland enticed them back after setting up their own linked currency and central bank combined with low corporation tax rates. It’ll take time but its not impossible like some politicos are trying to make out
As RBS along with entire parasitic capitalist establishment attempts to bully, lie, threaten and bribe Scotland into No vote, it’s abundantly clear that the interests of the vast majority of Scots would be better served by independence.
But Salmond has been lying the whole time that Scotland can use the pound without the permission of the Bank of England. It can’t.
The Bank of Scotland wouldn’t have any historical credibility and would be vulnerable to a run if they tried to shadow the pound instead of floating. Ireland couldn’t maintain a peg to the pound once capital accounts started to be liberalized. The Scottish pound would have to float rather than be directly tied to the UK pound.
Ireland only stopped shadowing the pound when the European monetary system was introduced, where all European currencies were linked to avoid large fluctuations. Effectively, we switched from shadowing the sterling to shadowing the DM. I’m not saying linking to the sterling would solve all their woes, just that it would be a temporary transitional measure before sorting out a permanent solution.
Thwy will soon swong back to Scotland after indepeendence if they reduce the corporation tax…..
Coddler it’s a bit of a stretch to say Scots would be better off independent. Nobody is even close to sure about that.
Ireland is going to be fine after the likes of MBNA, Halifax / Bank of Scotland, Anglo Irish and the rest of them finally get out of here or wind up. Scotland will be fine too.
Amy
Quote from article “switching key operations” bit more than just holding company/business address
Steve, that’s the language used by the author of the article and not by RBS themselves in their statement. Perhaps the author also doesn’t realise how minimal redomiciliation actually is to operations?
Amy,
Ok confess I didn’t read the original article just this one hence my comment. You may of course be right about this author not knowing the difference if it is just a change of address ten of course no job losses, although I do think a move by RBS may be on the cards. Especially if Scotland doesn’t get into the EU, which may of course be Ireland’s chance to get them here. Low Corporate tax, a decent financial services record (not talking of high street banks) may cause them to move here especially taking Ulster Banks presence on the Quays into consideration.
lucky Scotland , the last thing they need are large toxic global WMD banks ready to take the taxpayer down
Worst bank ever tbf.
Dee4.
RBS reported a £2.6bill pre tax profit recently….hardly a toxic bank.
Kevin,
Its not really a profit when the UK gov bailed out the bank to the tune of £45.5 billion
Another 43billion to go before the bank technically is in profit and the tax payer isn’t fitting the bill anymore.
But they are likely to become toxic again , all these banks are stuffed to the gills with European debt which is a ticking bomb
Lol worst ever bank eh… Ever heard of Anglo Irish.
Dee4
The 12,000 jobs that will go to London will be very good for Scotland. Many others will follow
Ronan,
The 12000 jobs are already in London. Edinburgh gets to create its own financial services centre… where is the disadvantage?
Kevin Harper…he means their customer service, not their value to shareholders, you know those poor sods who actually make a bank profitable.
The answer to all these Bank & Corporate ‘threats’ to move out of Scotland, is an effin big SO WHAT?!
Most especially the Banks and current Finance sector as they are a purely extractive ‘industry’ of leeches in any case. Good riddance. They can be quickly be replaced, as required, by Scottish institutions. (But I bet they won’t actually stop doing business in Scotland anyway…)
There is only ONE question the Scots need ask themselves about their economic prospects post independence….
Do you feel that your ability to produce +real+ goods and services, and usefully employ your population, would continue at least as well as before, or even be improved? It is the real economy that matters – always – as it is the real source of ‘wealth’. Put your people to work, without the mass unemployment & slave labour schemes, and you will thrive, regardless of some Capital owner complaining that aren’t able to leech off you as much as they’d like.
I see no reason whatever to doubt Scotland’s peoples’ ability. And every reason to believe they can organise themselves very much better under their own system.
There is nothing to fear but fear itself, as FDR famously said in announcing all the public works programs that would give people jobs and move the country out of recession.
All the bluster & nonsense from the NO campaign (the leeches of the Establishment) is pure nonsense. Pure bluff.
The economies and trade relationships of all European countries especially are so interlinked that the kind of ‘vigilante’ talk of Bank runs and all the rest is rubbish. Any collapse, of any state in Europe would cause massive damage everywhere on the continent. That will not be allowed to happen simply because the Scots want independence.
What the Establishment are really frightened of is NOT some fantasy of failure.. it is quite the opposite – an independent Scotland has the opportunity to thrive and truly look after its ordinary citizens. It is success in that that really scares the ruling elites of England (and everywhere else).
The establishment had mobilised to scupper any chance of Scotland being in charge of its own destiny
Salmon should come out and say great off you go. Then announce a tax rate for bankers way below England
Less tax on bankers? Considering the SNP is a leftist party, and a great deal of Scottish people are left-leaning voters, that would be quite the difficult sell.
They could hardly expect to keep British public service jobs if they break away.
They would need their own Public Service. No change in jobs. In fact one would expect an increase in jobs because the Civil Service “HQ” would then be based in Scotland and not Westminster.
William
Partly agree but Scotland with a smaller population wouldn’t need the same amount of public service staff, so there would be job losses. Unless of course PS staff numbers are increased to way beyond what would be needed and then where does the money come from to support a large inflated public service sector.
Jeez, talk about pilling on the pressure! Lucky the generation of Irish who voted for the Treaty / First Dáil didn’t have this kind of profits-before-people guilt-tripping to contend with!
The patriot in me would like to see an independent Scotland but the business woman in me knows that they have every right to make an informed decision when going to the polls-and that includes knowing what the economic intentions are of large corporations domiciled there and the general fallout, as it does filter down to affect the general pop. I don’t understand why a discussion surrounding their own currency, linked to the sterling, has not been discussed (or maybe it has and I haven’t seen the articles). We did it after independence so its not impossible. If they vote yes, there’s no doubt there will be serious instability there for a couple of years, but they can totally pull through with the right leadership.
There would have been no Treaty if we had been given Home Rule between 1912-4. We would have moved to full independence from there.
The amount of lies and scaremongering from the NO side is staggering.The current British government is as welcome in Scotland as a joby in a swimming pool.David Cameron doesnt give a hoot about Scotland and its people.he just worried about the money England will lose.The Scottish people will vote yes.
They won’t be alone. Would any company set up a base in a country where there’s uncertainty about tax structures or even what currency will be in use? Of course not. So why would a company stay in a country in which, suddenly, these questions can’t be answered? The answer is that they simply can’t. The question isn’t if it would happen, it’s what other companies will pull out and what will the government do to with this sudden surge of unemployment?
It would appear to me that the YES voters really haven’t thought this through and covered all possibilities. Alex Salmond seems to be more a smiley buffoon than the rest of them.
The FREEEEEDOOOOM camp don’t see that independence means that they are on their own if they vote yes. Everything needs to be considered, even things like what are BT going to do with this new country? Sell their landline network? What would this mean for Plusnet, Sky, Talk Talk, etc? The NHS will have to be replaced, an unenviable task to say the least. So many questions to which the SNP just have airy fairy answers.
These arguments above are absurd and could have been made when any country becomes independent from an Empire. Do you seriously think all the ex-USSR countries gave a toss about banks moving, telephone companies decisions? It’s not the YES camp have to think things through it’s you lot.
Tell me more about the obvious and numerous parallels between the UK in 2014 and the USSR in 1989 that I must have missed
You seem to be forgetting to mention that Lloyds bank which is not state owned (though the state as a small stake still) is also moving their legal entity to the UK if Scotland leaves. It’s nothing to do with politics, if Scotland leaves then they have no lender of last resort. They can’t leave that risk hanging over them or their shareholders will fire the CEO.
It’s bad for the shareholders to have that risk hanging over them, it’s nothing to do with politics.
you see thats the problem, banks should be risky and have nervous shaeholders, not asleep at the wheel we can always pick the pockets of the public ones
I don’t disagree. I’m up for getting rid of the banks as they currently exist but it’s a conversation which isn’t really happening. Martin Wolff is pushing for a form of narrow banking which takes away their ability to create a maturity mismatch and essentially ability to create money.
Okay Scotland, you can have a free vote……but you’ll pay for it!
Free means you can do what you want, not that you are free from the consequences of your actions.
Should Scotland vote yes, things could get a bit frantic at first, as the marriage with UK falls apart and separation agreement takes hold, but eventually everything settles down and a new dawn breaks.
Scotland can then proudly take its place in the world as a sovereign nation.
Such a Velvet Revolution has happened before: Czech and Slovakia comes to mind in the 90s. Baltic states also, away from Russia.
The sky didn’t fall then, and it won’t this time either, should Scotland vote yes. But it will be very,very close.
5m people should be able to make a good fist of going it alone economically, with your oil & gas, tourism, agriculture, fishing, financial services, manufacturing including world famous whisky.
Take comfort from Ireland’s success story, and our strong working relationship and friendship now with the “auld enemy”
If you don’t try you won’t succeed!
sorry, Ireland’s success story? Am I missing something here?
80 years of misery. 10 years of “fake” wealth. Horray yeah, we’re a great success alright.
The British government pulling out the classic scaremongering for the week before the vote. If big companies and banks want to leave let them. No company is bigger than a country or a people.
God but they are really throwing the kitchen sink at Scotland to stay part of a union that only has a functioning economy via massive money printing and where anything North of the London commuter belt is an afterthought.
Whatever happens the United Kingdom is in for big changes, it is constituted for a different era and those outside of London are no longer content to be second fiddle.
Which English politician ‘encouraged’ RBS to make this statement?
In fairness our Irish banks are a load of Shi#te..2 years ago I switched from BOI to Ulster bank(RBS) it was the best decision I ever made
Really? They have fees now and constant IT Issues. I moved to them and then to PTSB
Good riddence and two fingers, basically is that a threat or a promise?
I want to feel callous towards RBS when they have a museum off the Royal Mile boasting about how they upheld the integrity of the Scottish currency only for them now to feck off to England but as an Ulster Bank customer with common sense, I have to agree they have to do right by the share holders. I don’t see though what difference it makes? Ireland are independent of the UK and they can operate here…
I am puzzled by everyone in Ireland who overwhelmingly supports a yes vote, comparing Ireland with Scotland, chanting independence. Well is not the same, we were oppressed by the British AND some Scottish and Welsh against our will to belong in the UK, then we got our independence. Scotland WAS an INDEPENDENT country in 1707 and they WILLINGLY formed the United Kingdom. All these independence Braveheart chanting did happened, Scotland gained their freedom and for centuries they were an Independent country., they together with England willingly oppressed the Irish, the Americans and controlled the British Empire (British means English, Scottish and Welsh). No comparisons with Ireland here, they only thing is that they found oil in Scotland and as always money and greed talks. I want to see who would Scotland be if they were NEVER be part of the UK, world class infrastructure, Healthcare, status, security, currency, who would have bailed our RBS then?
If ever we needed another clear example of how we are living in a “democracy” this is it.
We are living in “democracy” under which private business and big government threaten and bribe us to vote in a certain way.
Big parties are financed by big business, they back certain campaign, finance poster campaigns, TV and radio advertising etc
Tommy Whelan, you speak like a true West Brit and a lying Coward.
Tristan thanks for your opinion but I’m a Irish man who believes the scots have a right to chose there own future in or out of the union in a democratic process based on facts . How exactly does that make me a coward .
If they do this it can no longer be called the Royal Bank Of Scotland…
Looks like Salmonds battle plan is starting to fall apart . He s been expose as lying to the scots on just about every subject to get what he wants . Is this the sort of leader Scotland wants in a independent Scotland . He s turn scots against each other and he turns scots against the rest of the union . The man has no limits .
Yes it can. Cuisine de France isn’t based in France.
Since you use that as an example, is it cuisine?
It’s up to Scotland to decide but I have to say looking in from the outside I think its disgraceful, the bullying, constant threats, fear mongering, meddling and conniving in a democratic process.
It shows they have no real respect for democracy or Scotland. They really are despicable.
That’s how democracy plays out. Remember Lisbon 2 in this country. Carrot or stick approach. This time it’s the stick and threats from the No people and the carrot and false promises from the Yes camp.
It’s a non-story used as a scare. It’s a simple administrative issue whereby if Scotland votes for independence, because 80% of RBS’s business is conducted in the London offices then under EU regulations its ‘registered office’ (ie its formal postal address for contracts/legal purposes) will be the London office rather than the historic Edinburgh address.
It is nothing to do with politics or job losses or anything like that at all. The real question is how something like this was leaked by the UK Treasury administrators to journalists sympathetic to the No campaign and spun into a major story about job losses on all the papers and broadcast media just as the polls start their phoning around to check opinions on Yes/No.
It’s orchestrated and such a pity that journalists in the UK, and in Scotland in particular, are no longer interested in investigation and critique. But then the vast majority of the media is pro-Union so they are delighted to spin stories like this.
They tried the carrot. Now it’s time to get out the stick….
Poor reporting..look at the whole statement made by Rbs..no job losses no actual moving ..its only moving a brass plaque ffs !!!!
England would not be far enough.
After they move to the uk what happens if uk leave the European Union. Next stop ireland.
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