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(Alliance News) - FTSE 100 lender NatWest Group PLC would move its headquarters from Scotland to London in the event of a vote to take the country out of the UK, its chief executive officer said Thursday.
Alison Rose, chief executive of the group, said while the issue of independence is one for Scots to decide, the bank's balance sheet would be "too big for an independent Scottish economy".
Tory finance spokesman Murdo Fraser said confirmation that independence would see it move its base away from the Scottish capital "starkly confirms the very real consequences for Scottish jobs and business if Nicola Sturgeon ever gets her way".
Fraser insisted: "For the historic Royal Bank of Scotland to be forced to leave Scotland in the event of the break-up of Britain would be devastating."
His comments came after Rose told the Herald newspaper: "As you know, we are neutral on the issue of Scottish independence – it is something for the Scottish people to decide.
"We have been very clear, and it is recognised by senior nationalists, that in the event that there was independence in Scotland, our balance sheet would be too big for an independent Scottish economy, and we would move our registered headquarters… to London."
Her remarks came just days before Scots go to the polls in the Holyrood election, with the SNP pushing to win a majority of seats in the hope of securing a second referendum on independence.
Pamela Nash, chief executive of the pro-UK Scotland in Union campaign group, said: "As part of the UK, Scotland has a thriving financial services industry providing high quality jobs and income.
"Losing the RBS HQ to London would be a hammer blow for the country's reputation as a place to invest and work.
"As a new and smaller economy, a separate Scotland would be at greater risk of shocks, and we would be gambling with people's livelihoods by scrapping the pound and building a border with England.
"The last thing our economy needs as we enter the Covid recovery period is more uncertainty, which is why the SNP should drop its obsession with a divisive and reckless referendum."
Shares in NatWest closed 3.6% lower at 196.14 pence on Thursday in London.
By Katrine Bussey, PA Scotland Political Editor
source: PA
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