IMF warns that Scottish split will shake markets

12th Sep 2014 09:05

The campaign for Scottish independence took a fresh twist last night as International Monetary Fund (IMF) chiefs warned of potential upheaval in financial markets if the 'yes' campaign wins. The IMF said a Scottish vote in favour of a split from the UK was likely to trigger uncertainty in the short term over the move to potentially new and different monetary, financial and fiscal frameworks.An IMF spokesman reportedly said: "While this uncertainty could lead to negative market reactions in the short term, longer-term effects would depend on the decisions being made during the transition.”The prospect of a 'yes' vote next Thursday has sent the pound down and prompted several big financial institutions to announce that they would move their legal bases from Scotland to England or elsewhere.There has also been talk of capital outflows from Scotland in the event of a split and people withdrawing money from Scottish banks.Supporters of the union pounced on the announcements as evidence that Scotland would be worse off if it went solo.But pro-independence campaigners have pointed out that companies who have said they would move their registered offices, such as the Royal Bank of Scotland, also said they would not move their operations or staff out of Scotland.The leader of the 'yes' campaign, Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond, has dismissed the fears as scaremongering.A poll last niight showed the 'no' campaign regaining support after a shock survey by polling group YouGov at the weekend showing separatists in the lead.The latest poll, also by YouGov, showed the pro-unionists with a 52% lead against 48% for the 'yes' campaign.