LONDON — Two of Britain's largest banks, the Lloyds Banking Group and the Royal Bank of Scotland, have said they would shift their bases to England if Scotland votes for independence next week.
The moves, if they happen, would be mostly technical in nature. The banking operations and jobs of R.B.S. and Lloyds in Scotland would mostly stay there. But by changing where they are incorporated to England, the companies would maintain the backing of the Bank of England as a lender of last resort and continued deposit protection for their customers.
Like many companies, the two banks have mostly stayed out of the independence debate, but they said had had to begin contingency planning in case Scotland decides in the Sept. 18 referendum to leave the United Kingdom.
Polls in the past week have indicated a Yes vote is more likely than initially thought, prompting a number of businesses to weigh in on the issue and a push by British politicians to persuade Scotland to keep the union together.
"As part of such contingency planning, 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," the bank said in a news release on Thursday. "In the event of a 'Yes' vote, the decision to re-domicile should have no impact on everyday banking services used by our customers throughout the British Isles."
Founded in 1727, R.B.S. is one of Britain's oldest banks. The bank has its corporate headquarters on a sprawling campus near the Edinburgh airport and employs about 11,500 people in Scotland.
"R.B.S. intends to retain a significant level of its operations and employment in Scotland to support its customers there and the activities of the whole bank," the bank said.
Late Wednesday, Lloyds confirmed that it would move its domicile to England from Scotland if were to become an independent nation.
"While the scale of potential change is currently unclear, we have contingency plans in place which include the establishment of new principal legal entities in England," Lloyds said in a statement. "This is a legal procedure and there would be no immediate changes or issues which could affect our business or our customers."
Lloyds employs about 16,000 people in Scotland, the vast majority of which work in branches or call centers. Lloyds is incorporated in Scotland, but maintains its headquarters in London.
"We are committed to remaining a very significant employer in Scotland," a Lloyds spokesman said on Thursday.
Any changes likely wouldn't happen immediately. A "Yes" vote would be followed by an 18-month transition period in which politicians in Scotland and in England would negotiate on a variety of issues ahead of a breakup, ranging from the allocation of military forces to treasury issues.
Mark J. Carney, the Bank of England governor, told a Parliament committee on Wednesday afternoon that the central bank would remain a lender of last resort for banks in Scotland during the transition period.
After that, it would be up to Scotland to determine who backed financial institutions, which make up a large portion of Scotland's economy, Mr. Carney said. Edinburgh serves as a financial center for many insurance companies and asset managers, in addition to being R.B.S.'s home.
Under European law, the country where a financial institution is incorporated, not the country in which those assets are located, serves as the lender of last resort, Mr. Carney said. The rest of Britain, outside of Scotland, makes up a large portion of the deposit bases of both R.B.S. and Lloyds.
George Osborne, the chancellor of the Exchequer, said earlier this week that Britain would not share the pound with Scotland in a currency union if it votes for independence.
Instead, Scotland may opt to still use the pound but adopt a policy similar to Hong Kong, which uses the United States dollar as its currency.
Mr. Carney, in his testimony on Wednesday, said countries that adopt another nation's currency, without a sharing agreement, often have to maintain larger levels of reserves in order to back that currency and gain the confidence of the public.
In an economy, such as Scotland's, that is heavily tied to the financial services industry, a country often has to maintain reserves well above its gross domestic product, Mr. Carney said.
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