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Royal Bank of Scotland will move its registered offices to England if Scotland votes for independence from Britain in next week’s referendum, the state-owned lender said today.
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”, it said in a statement.
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 per cent owned by the British state after it was rescued with £45.5 billion ($73.7 billion) of taxpayer money during the global financial crisis in the world’s biggest ever bank bailout.
Jobs will not be moved out
Royal Bank of Scotland's Chief Executive Ross McEwan said the bank's plan to relocate to England if Scots vote for independence doesn't mean it will move operations out of the region or cut jobs.
"This is a technical procedure regarding the location of our registered head office. It is not an intention to move operations or jobs," McEwan said in a memo to staff seen by Reuters.
"Our current business in Scotland, including the personal and business bank, IT and operations, human resources and many other functions, are here because of the skills and knowledge of our people, and the sound business environment. So far, I see no reason why this would change should we implement our contingency plans," McEwan said.
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