LONDON (AFP) ― Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland may move their registered offices from Edinburgh to England if Scots vote for independence next week, Lloyds and a Treasury source said on Wednesday.

Currently, the state-backed banks are legally registered in Scotland due to historical ties with the country, but plans are being made to review this in the event of a “Yes” vote.

“While the scale of potential change is currently unclear, we have contingency plans in place which include the establishment of new legal entities in England,” Lloyds said in a statement.

“There will be a period between the Referendum and the implementation of separation, should a ‘yes’ vote be successful, that we believe is sufficient to take any necessary action.”

A source at the British Treasury said “RBS have also been in touch with us and have similar plans to base themselves in London.”

RBS was not immediately available for comment.

Lloyds is headquartered in London, but the RBS flagship main office is in Scotland’s capital Edinburgh, and it was not clear whether the headquarters might be moved as well as the legal seat.

Uncertainty remains about what currency an independent Scotland would use, and whether it would be backed by the Bank of England or a Scottish central bank.

“Yes Scotland” leader Alex Salmond wants a formal pound currency union with the remaining United Kingdom, but the three main parties in Westminster have said they will not agree to this.

The Royal Bank of Scotland is 81 percent owned by the British state after it was rescued with 45.5 billion pounds ($73.7 billion) of taxpayer money during the global financial crisis in the world’s biggest ever bank bailout.

The British government, which gave Lloyds a 20 billion pounds bailout in 2008, last month delayed the sale of its remaining 25 percent stake in the bank until after the May 2015 general election due to market volatility, the Scottish referendum and upcoming stress tests.