Indyref 9

[IrnBruTheNoo]

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Ok. IF RBS are true to their word and they do not move any operations south of the border in the event of an independence vote then the impact on financial services would be slightly less severe than I feared. But it is one company.

I would prefer not to analyse any locations until we have the complete and final results Chelsy.

oooh brilliant frankie. Ring the BBC and tell them, they'll be made up.

Thank you statistically, I guess that is the best I can hope for from you.

oooh brilliant frankie. Ring the BBC and tell them, they'll be made up.

Thank you statistically, I guess that is the best I can hope for from you.

Re the negotiating hand that rUK and iScotland will have, I found this interesting:
devolutionmatters.wordpress.com/2014/09/09/negotiations-after-a-scottish-referendum-yes-vote/
(skip the first couple of paragraphs).

Re "no intention" to move jobs:
Honestly this means nothing. If he said anything else he would have to open redundancy consultations, TUPE consultations etc, which obviously RBS aren't ready for.

He said that there is "NO INTENTION" to move jobs. Tha is a very strong statement. DO you want him to personally guarantee it forever? Regardless of whatever happens? of course he won't. There are no guarantees anywhere in life or business.

No there aren't therefore you can't guarantee they won't relocate either.

YouGov result out at 10pm.

"No intention" not to relocate jobs doesn't sound like much of a guarantee of anything in the banking world. Standard Life and Lloyds have said they will move. Aberdeen Asset Management stands to gain from independence by mopping up some of their business. But economies take years to establish a good reputation for reliability and safety of funds, and while you might make a case for an independent Scotland being a destination for financial companies 30 or even 50 years down the line, in the short term it makes far more risk averse sense to move.

I don't think its only finance companies moving you have to worry about, but people moving their savings out of Scottish bank accounts and their pensions out of funds based in Scotland or invested in Scottish companies. I think expecting people not to avoid risk is very niaive and misunderstands human nature and banking crisis such in Ireland and Scottish Equitable in the past, when people really did lose their savings and pensions.

I hardly think you can blame people, much less demonise them, about being worried by the possibility of losing their jobs, homes, pensions and having their lives uprooted.

Thanks for that blog, Fester.

Thank you. The list of key priorities made me wince.

Tonight's FT piece on impact on UK economy. "Five banks said they would move their headquarters south of the border in the event of a Yes vote, and are lobbying the Treasury to pass new laws to speed up the transfer of their corporate bases to England.

....The banks believe that they risk being penalised by investors and rating agencies if they keep their domicile in an independent Scotland and lose the support of the Bank of England as their lender of last resort. Inquiries from nervous customers about the consequences of a Yes vote have also increased since the polls narrowed last week."

Of course, AS has already stated that response to this is scaremongering. So ya know, don't worry, sure it'll all be grand.

Agreed Chelsy. The financial services issues are wider than just where the jobs are, it's also about where the money is.

Most of Aberdeen Asset Management's customers will be south of the border. As will most of the companies invested in - and I'd bet they will shift the cash funds. At best that money might still be serviced here but is sure won't be here.

Oh dear another myth has had a spotlight shone in its direction

www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/sep/11/scotland-nhs-not-better-independence-institute-fiscal-studies

In the event of a Yes, we have made arrangements to move savings into the account of a family member. I can't imagine that we are alone. I suspect people more sophisticated with money than us will have set up Euro accounts or whatever.

Actually, any advice on that? How do you open accounts in foreign currency (Euro ? Dollar?) if you are just ordinary people without their own financial advisor and not much actual money by their standards.

Let's be clear about this. Employers want to keep their staff happy. They want to keep them working normally as long as possible. It's bad policy to say that changes are coming until you have decided exactly what they may be. It's extremely bad for morale.

In the case of banks and other FS in Scotland, no decision can be taken until it's known whether independence will happen, and then how any negotiations are resolved. Until then it is sensible, and entirely truthful, to say that no moves or redundancies are planned. Because they aren't.

But no reputable bank is going to have its name on a plate in the country where it does 90% of its business, and all its staff in another country.

And of course, if you move even some of the financial services jobs down south, those job holders will take their spending power with them. That will have an effect on local and not so local businesses that won't benefit from that spending power.

Roseformeplease I don't know anything about Euro accounts but I have a Citibank dollar account because I have a fair number of US dealings. It's easy enough to open up if you have a look a their website.

Thank you SallyingForth. You've expressed what I was thinking far more clearly than I was managing.

The trickle down effect of FS staff spending (and other impacted industries) is one which is often forgotten when people say they don't care, FS is too big etc. The money coming in then circulates around the local economy.

I've said before that I wouldn't be surprised to see the senior roles going quickly and us being left with a bunch of call centres/admin jobs.

Corey why do you keep asking me, out of all the posters on here, very personalised questions? As if you think you know who I am or something. Is it meant to be some kind of threat, and shouldn't you be unbiased, particularly if you are bringing job references into it?

You are aware that there is a human right to political affiliation, and that to breach it could land someone in very hot water? If you have got the right person, and some innocent isn't having their life made difficult at work by you.

YES 48% NO 52%

Even tighter in the polls. I can't take another week of this!!!

Beat me to it Annie, was just coming to type that!

Rose,
Anyone in the EU can open an account in euros. Most UK banks will open a euro account for you, or choose a European bank that has a UK office. Just be careful of exchange charges.

I'm guessing everyone watching debate - I followed on twitter earlier so have a pretty good idea of the drift but really couldn't risk giving in to the urge to throw something at my TV by watching another one. I need to get some marshmallows or popcorn. Throwing the cat is a bit risky.

Surely RBS will move jobs to England if it is cheaper for them to do it?
As Statistically said Scotland could end up with the less senior roles - it could the new India.

Maybe RBS will bring jobs back from India if the Scots are so desperate for jobs they will accept lower wages.