11th Sep 2014 13:06
LONDON (Alliance News) - Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC and Lloyds Banking Group PLC, both based in Scotland, have made contingency plans to move their headquarters to London in the event of the Scottish people voting in favour of a split from the UK at next week's independence referendum.
In a statement, Lloyds Banking Group said it has received an increase in inquiries from its customers, colleagues and other stakeholders about its plans following the referendum, which is scheduled for September 18.
"While the scale of potential change is currently unclear, we have contingency plans in place which include the establishment of new legal entities in England," Lloyds said in a statement.
But Lloyds said the measures were a matter of "legal procedure" and "there would be no immediate changes or issues which could affect our business or our customers."
"There will be a period between the referendum and the implementation of separation, should a 'yes' vote be successful, that we believe is sufficient to take any necessary action," Lloyds added.
The UK government still has a 25% stake in Lloyds, the owner of Halifax and Bank of Scotland. The government's stake in RBS is considerably larger, at 80% of the bank's share capital.
RBS confirmed its own contingency planning and said it believes it will be "necessary" in the event of a 'Yes' vote to re-domicile the bank's holding company and its primary rated operating entity, The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC, to England.
"In the event of a 'Yes' vote, the decision to re-domicile should have no impact on everyday banking services used by our customers throughout the British Isles," RBS said in a statement Thursday.
While the bank has previously outlined a number of concerns about the referendum, including questions over the impact of a "Yes" vote on its credit ratings, and on fiscal, monetary, legal and regulatory matters, it also noted its commitment to doing business in Scotland.
"RBS intends to retain a significant level of its operations and employment in Scotland to support its customers there and the activities of the whole bank," the bank added.
While the banks have contingency plans in place, the UK government said it is not making contingency plans for a "Yes" vote.
"However... the UK authorities are responsible for financial stability in every part of the UK and will do everything necessary to work closely in all circumstances with all financial institutions who are based or wish to be based in the UK," a Treasury spokesman said.
Other financial institutions to weigh in on the question of independence on Thursday include Aberdeen Asset Management PLC, TSB Banking Group PLC and Tesco Bank.
According to the BBC, Martin Gilbert, the chief executive of FTSE 100 asset manager Aberdeen, told its 5live radio service that he is not worried about the outcome of the referendum.
"I've always said I'm not telling anyone the way I'm going to vote but what I have said is that I think Scotland will prosper either way the vote goes," Gilbert told 5live.
Meanwhile, TSB, the bank spun off by Lloyds earlier this year, said it is likely to establish additional legal entities in England in the event of a 'yes' vote.
Tesco Bank said it has been developing contingency plans to ensure it can continue to provide service to its customers regardless of the outcome of the referendum. It said those plans include the creation of a new registered company, domiciled in England.
"While the creation of a new company would change the address of our registered headquarters, we do not expect there would be any immediate impact on colleagues at our existing centres. Scotland is an important market to us and will continue to be an important market regardless of the outcome of the referendum," Tesco Bank said in a statement.
By Samuel Agini; [email protected]; @samuelagini
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