Latest News About England: Standard Life could quit Scotland if voters back independence

Edinburgh-based insurance firm says it will take 'whatever action necessary' to protect business in event of yes vote

The Edinburgh-based pensions firm Standard Life has drawn up contingency plans to quit Scotland if it becomes an independent country.

Another pillar of the Scottish financial establishment, Royal Bank of Scotland, added to business community concerns over the 18 September referendum by warning that independence "would be likely to significantly impact the group's credit ratings and could also impact the fiscal, monetary, legal and regulatory landscape to which the group is subject".

Standard Life, which has nearly 4 million customers in the UK and 5,000 employees in Scotland, said it would take "whatever action necessary" to protect its business, including moving its operations to England. Gerry Grimstone, the firm's chairman, said: "We have been based in Scotland for 189 years and we are very proud of our heritage. Scotland has been a good place from which to run our business and to compete around the world.

"We very much hope that this can continue. But if anything were to threaten this, we will take whatever action we consider necessary – including transferring parts of our operations from Scotland – in order to ensure continuity and to protect the interests of our stakeholders."

Standard Life's chief executive, David Nish, said the company had started to register companies in England, but declined to say where Standard Life's new headquarters could be.

The financial services firm, which has £237bn under management, highlighted uncertainties over an independent Scotland's currency, the shape of its monetary system, financial services regulation and taxes.

It also raised questions about whether an independent Scotland would be able to join the European Union by the Scottish government's preferred March 2016 target date.

Nish said these were "the fundamental things we need clarity on to evaluate the decision we are making".

Alex Salmond, Scotland's first minister, has said Scotland would continue to use the pound without the agreement of Westminster, after chancellor George Osborne, along with Labour's Ed Balls, ruled out currency union with Scotland.

Critics argue that Salmond's 'sterlingisation' proposal – dubbed the "Panama option" where Scotland adopts the pound with no currency agreement – would spell disaster for Scotland's financial services industry, leaving it without a lender of last resort or central bank.

Nish said people could draw their own conclusions about whether using the pound unilaterally was compatible with a large financial services industry. "We have to take into account the needs of our customers and we will begin to take actions to ensure we will fulfil our commitments to them."

Although the RBS chief executive, Ross McEwan, was pointedly neutral when asked about independence on Thursday morning, the RBS annual results carried a frank assessment of the consequences of a "yes vote". In a statement buried away on p140 of the RBS annual results, the bank said that Scottish independence referendum – and uncertainty about a potential referendum on EU membership in 2017 – were a risk to its business and had already "negatively affected" its business.

It stated: "The group's businesses, earnings and financial condition have been and will continue to be negatively affected by global economic conditions, the instability in the global financial markets and increased competition and political risks including proposed referenda on Scottish independence and UK membership of the EU.

"Together with a perceived increased risk of default on the sovereign debt of certain European countries and unprecedented stresses on the financial system within the eurozone, these factors have resulted in significant changes in market conditions including interest rates, foreign exchange rates, credit spreads, and other market factors and consequent changes in asset valuations."

RBS also warns on p206 of its report that it relies heavily on the UK government's credit rating, which could be impacted by independence. "Furthermore, the group's borrowing costs and its access to the debt capital markets and other sources of liquidity depend significantly on its and the UK government's credit ratings which would be likely to be negatively impacted by political events, such as an affirmative outcome of the referendum for the independence of Scotland."

Standard Life's intervention also raises questions about whether other major banks such as Lloyds, which owns Bank of Scotland, will warn that independence could pose a "material risk" to shareholders. While Lloyds executives have played down the independence issue, Lloyds is due to sell off further tranches of shares and thought to be studying the potential impacts on its business of a failure by Alex Salmond to agree a sterling currency union with the UK, changes financial regulations and different tax systems.

The warnings come days after a survey revealed that two-thirds of FTSE 100 chairmen who participated in a survey said they were against Scottish independence.

Nick Clegg, the deputy prime minister, said Standard Life's announcement "doesn't surprise me" because of uncertainty over issues such as currency and an independent Scotland's EU membership.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, he said: "Because of the failure of the SNP to prepare for this moment and spell out what they mean by independence, it is no wonder that major employers are saying 'Maybe we can't continue with our presence north of the border'."

On Wednesday, one of Scotland's biggest companies, engineering group Weir, said it had commissioned a report into the implications of Scottish independence on businesses after warning that "very serious questions" need to be answered. The Glasgow-based company, which employs about 14,000 people in more than 70 countries, said that business must have a voice in the debate alongside the political rhetoric of the yes and no camps.

Keith Cochrane, Weir's chief executive, said the company would publicise the findings of its report, which will consider currency, pensions, trade and taxation, by early April.

He said: "This is a big issue, the debate needs to be focused on objective facts. Alongside other voters, I will personally be able to participate on 18 September, but I think it's really important that business contributes to that debate."

Although Scottish companies have been wary of entering the independence debate, Weir was among the first to raise concerns about going it alone in 2012, when Cochrane warned that talk of secession was creating uncertainty for businesses. More companies have broken cover since, with BP's chief executive, Bob Dudley, entering the debate earlier this month.

Dudley, who oversees a major player in the North Sea oil and gas industry, said he did not want to see Scotland "drifting away" from the UK. He said BP would almost certainly face higher costs due to uncertainty over the currency, which would endanger investment. Dudley spoke out after an intervention by the chancellor, who said a currency union based on the pound would be "unworkable" in the wake of analysis by the Bank of England.

Jennifer Rankin

Angela Monaghan

Severin Carrell