11th Sep 2014 05:55
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 referendum, according to a Treasury source.
In a statement, Lloyds Banking Group said it has received an increase in enquiries 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 case 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.
While the banks have contingency plans in place, the government said it is not making contingency plans for a yes vote.
"However, as the Governor of the Bank of England has made clear, 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." ends," a Treasury spokesman said.
By Samuel Agini; [email protected]; @samuelagini
Copyright 2014 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Related Shares:
LloydsRBS.L