RBS Threatens Move to London if Yes Vote Wins

Royal Bank of Scotland has confirmed it will relocate its registered headquarters to London if Scotland votes for independence next week.

In a letter to staff, the bank’s chief executive said there was no intention to move operations or jobs.

Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond has accused the Treasury of leaking sensitive market data about RBS.

A Treasury source dismissed Mr Salmond’s claim as “absurd”, calling it a “desperate distraction tactic”.

RBS said in a statement that it believed it would be “necessary to re-domicile the bank’s holding company”.

RBS chief executive Ross McEwan sent a letter to staff on Thursday morning, which said he did not believe moving the bank’s registered headquarters would have any impact on its everyday banking services.

The letter stated: “It is my view as chief executive that any decision to move our registered headquarters would have no impact on our everyday banking services used by our customers in Scotland.

“This is a technical procedure regarding the rotation of our registered head office based on our current strategy and business plan. It is not an intention to move operations or jobs.

“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.”

via BBC

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Alfonso Esparza

Alfonso Esparza

Senior Currency Analyst at Market Pulse
Alfonso Esparza specializes in macro forex strategies for North American and major currency pairs. Upon joining OANDA in 2007, Alfonso Esparza established the MarketPulseFX blog and he has since written extensively about central banks and global economic and political trends. Alfonso has also worked as a professional currency trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.
Alfonso Esparza