Which English high street bank if Scotland votes yes?

[gamescompendium]

So, DH and I have current accounts with RBS. We have lived in England for 20 years and are unlikely to move back. If the referendum result is 'yes' then we'll want to move our accounts to a bank down here (RBS have already sold off their English branches although they are still currently branded RBS that will no doubt change soon). Which bank would you recommend, or, more importantly, warn us away from?

RBS. They will be an English bank if Scotland votes yes.

I live in Scotland but my main account is held in an English branch of Natwest as it was opened when me/dh lived there. Why would you need to move anything?

as per last poster, if its yes you may as well stay with RBS if you are happy with them as they will be an English Bank. (registered offices will change to London, half the staff are there anyway, Edinburgh - London will just swap round)

www.rbs.com/news/2014/09/statement-in-response-to-press-speculation-on-re-domicile.html

They are separating the English (now owned by Williams and Glyn) and Scottish (still RBS) branches. Our joint account is in England, our individual accounts are in Scotland, we already can't move money between accounts as easily as we once could (we could do immediate transfers between the accounts, now it's like moving money from one bank to another, not immediate).

RBS might be moving the headquarters to London but that's irrelevant. The trouble is where the branch where my account is, not where the headquarters are.

what banks are available to you where you live? Do you need to access a branch much? First Direct seems to get good reviews but is mainly serviced online.

First Direct is excellent although it's online only. Can't recommend them highly enough!

why would a yes (or no) vote make any difference though to how things are now though? I don't think it matters which bank you use nowadays if you bank online and choose the right (modern) one. I have joint account at nationwide and personal accounts at Santander (which is Spanish I think) and I can have windows open on Internet banking on both and watch mo ey leave one and arrive in the other almost instantaneously - because they both use the faster payments system. the sandander ones are internet/phone only (for better rates) and I rarely go on a nationwide branch.

I imagine that RBS would be the same? maybe its tbe small Walter whatever ones you need to get rid off.

or switch all account to Santander or first direct.

Is there any reason why you can't open individual accounts with the same branch as your joint one currently is ?

Santander (the 123-account) is a good bet as it pays some interest and cash back.

all banks are the same really. I've got accounts with lots of them and they all work.

if the Scots vote yes there is no immediate panic, but like most others I'll be pulling my money and pension out before it becomes a foreign country.

An intersting issue

If Scotland is mad enough to vote for Independence, they will at that instant leave the UK and thus the EU and thus the FSCS account protection : money in a scottish bank will be no safer than in Nigeria

the re -entry to the EU would instantly make Scotland as safe as any EU bank - such as Santander

however the Spanish, French, Beligians and Italians are not going to roll over and let Scotland join because of their own political issues

therefore most likely the Scottish banks will re domicile to London PDQ to have access to currency and liquidity
while Scotland works out which currency to use
(scarily Nigel Farridge was on the nail about that one)

all up, it will be messy if the Scots ARE that silly

Scotland will still be part of the UK immediatley following a yes vote until the negotiations are finished and the Bank of England says all banks will be covered by it after the vote. You have plenty of time to decide following the vote and no need to panic.

First direct any time, brilliant customer service.