Courtesy of Mish.
Tale of Two Countries
Fearmongering in Scotland hits fever pitch as RBS and four other banks threaten to leave the country if Scotland votes "Yes" for independence.
In Spain, Catalans staged a huge protest in favor of independence. The Spanish government hopes Scotland will vote "No" even though it seeks to halt a Catalan vote altogether.
Let's take a close look at these stories starting with Scotland.
RBS, 4 Other Banks Warn of Relocation to England if Scots Vote Yes
On the fearmongering front, RBS warns it would relocate to England if Scots vote Yes.
Royal Bank of Scotland led a host of banks employing more than 35,000 people in Scotland who warned that they would relocate their headquarters south of the border in the event of a Yes vote in the Scottish independence referendum next week.
“RBS believes that it would be necessary to re-domicile the bank’s holding company and its primary rated operating entity (The Royal Bank of Scotland plc) to England,” it said in a statement on Thursday.
The move, which followed a similar announcement from Lloyds Banking Group on Wednesday, was swiftly echoed by Clydesdale Bank, TSB Bank and Tesco Bank, which all individually confirmed they would set up London-based entities if Scotland voted to leave the UK.
The recently floated TSB Bank, which has more than a quarter of its loans north of the border, said it planned to move its main high street banking subsidiary’s domicile from Edinburgh to London. TSB’s parent company and head office are already all in London, but it has more than 2,000 staff in Scotland, out of a total of 8,000.
“Although the implications of Scottish Independence remain unclear, it is likely that in the event of a Yes vote, TSB will establish additional legal entities in England,” it said, adding that it expected there to be enough time between a Yes vote and the start of independence to implement any changes.
With some polls showing the two sides neck-and-neck a week before the vote, business leaders have become more outspoken about the impact of a Yes vote. Retailer Next said on Thursday it feared that independence would push up prices in its stores north of the border….
