As the Scottish referendum nears, capital takesfright
蘇獨公投逼進驚擾資金流動
BEFORE this week many investors and money managers had dismissed the possibility thatScotland would vote to leave the United Kingdom on September 18th as too remote to worryabout. But then came a poll by YouGov for the Times newspaper showing that support forindependence had risen sharply. And so all the well-rehearsed uncertainty over anindependent Scotland's economic and financial arrangements is beginning to feel rather lesstheoretical, and more urgent.
Most jittery are banks, pension funds and other businesses with significant cross-borderinterests. Polls from the Scottish Chambers of Commerce have shown in the past that 10% offirms have considered moving away from Scotland if the country votes to go it alone, that afurther 8% have definite plans to move and that 5% would expand their English operations orset up an English company. More such businesses have spoken openly as the referendumnears. Standard Life, an insurer, has said it has drawn up contingency plans to move south inthe event of a “Yes” vote. It has been widely reported that Lloyds Banking Group, which ownsBank of Scotland, would shift its headquarters from Edinburgh to London as well.
Douglas Baillie, a pensions expert, says that clients from south of the border are ringing up,worrying about the future of their pension and life-assurance policies held in the likes ofStandard Life, Scottish Widows (owned by Lloyds) and Aegon (formerly Scottish Equitable). Allare Edinburgh-based and among the largest pension funds in Britain. English investors want toknow whether they would still be paid in pounds, says Mr Baillie. They also worry that theywould no longer have any sway through the ballot box over the tax regime governing theirpensions. If Scotland votes to leave, warns Mr Baillie, the flow of pension money into theScottish-based insurance companies from outside Scotland may well dry up. And there wouldbe transfers out, to English-based companies. “They will run for cover, to a safe haven,” hesays.
This fear of capital flight is most worrying. The share price of Lloyds slid slightly afterYouGov's poll was released. The pound has fallen slightly, too, although this cannot beattributed entirely to worries over the referendum. One senior banker, Bill O'Neill of UBS WealthManagement, says that the markets have moved from pricing Scottish independence at a “onein six chance to about one in four”, and that some money has already been moved out ofScottish bank accounts and assets, mainly by clients with self-invested pensions worried aboutcompany stocks exposed to Scotland. But for the time being this is merely “precautionary”, hesays. Another wealth manager, Bryan Johnston of Brewin Dophin, says his clients are alsoseeking advice on precautionary measures in case of a “Yes” vote. Investors are taking outderivatives to hedge against volatility in the pound and equities.
If the prospect of a departure worries bankers and investors, of course, an actual one wouldcause enormous upheaval. Nationalists have set a date of March 2016 to separate from theUnited Kingdom. That is probably too ambitious. However long the negotiations take, they willbe tortuous and ill-tempered. Almost everything, from currency to nuclear weapons, would beon the table, making for a fluid, uncertain picture. Expect the jitters to continue.