Lloyds to set up English entities as Scottish independence contingency

(Reuters) - Lloyds Banking Group Plc, which is based in Scotland, said on Wednesday it would set up legal entities in England as part of its contingency planning for next week’s referendum on Scottish independence. Separately, government and banking sources said Royal Bank of Scotland, another major British bank located in Scotland, would base itself in London in the event of independence being approved. Lloyds Banking Group currently employs 16,000 staff in Scotland. RBS employs 11,500. Opinion polls suggest a close vote in the referendum on Sept. 18. Opponents of independence have said that Scotland’s banks might move to England amid uncertainty over what currency an independent Scotland might use and whether it would be able to count on the support of the Bank of England as a lender of last resort. (Reporting by Aashika Jain in Bangalore; Editing by Bernard Orr)