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Santander and Tesco (Bank)

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  • System
    System Posts: 178,374 Community Admin
    10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    The EU question is of a bit red herring - in the unlikely event that Scotland doesn't retain / obtain EU membership, it can join EFTA and be part of the EEA like Norway.
    This is a system account and does not represent a real person. To contact the Forum Team email forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com
  • zagubov
    zagubov Posts: 17,939 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    colsten wrote: »
    You can ask a similar Q about Scotland, and for a lot better reason. The size of the financial services sector in Iceland was 7 times GDP. In Scotland, it would be 12 times the size of GDP. These are extreme multiples. Not even Switzerland, a bastion of banks, has a banking sector more than 4 times its GDP.

    http://www.economicsinpictures.com/2013/08/banking-sector-percentage-of-gdp-across.html

    If I remember correctly, Cyprus had a financial services sector of 8 times its GDP when that sector collapsed.

    Interestingly Luxembourg 's financial sector is 18 times its GDP.
    http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/publications/country_focus/2013/pdf/cf_vol10_issue9_en.pdf
    Heng_Leng wrote: »
    The EU question is of a bit red herring - in the unlikely event that Scotland doesn't retain / obtain EU membership, it can join EFTA and be part of the EEA like Norway.

    cheaper too.
    There is no honour to be had in not knowing a thing that can be known - Danny Baker
  • colsten
    colsten Posts: 17,597 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Seventh Anniversary Photogenic Name Dropper
    zagubov wrote: »
    Interestingly Luxembourg 's financial sector is 18 times its GDP.

    Luxembourg is quite unique and different though as it is geographically very central to the EU, and from a wealth point of view, it is bang in the centre of the majority EU wealth. Many international financial institutions operate their entire EU presence from their HQs in Luxembourg, and the European Investment Bank operates out of Luxembourg.

    Some 147 financial institutions from 26 countries around the world operate from Luxembourg. Over 100 of them are from other EU countries. This is very different to the Scottish financial sector which is marked by 2 scottish behemoths, and a number of smaller scottish companies. Cruically, the activities of EU institutions operating in Luxembourg are subject to authorisation by their home country, not by Luxembourg.
  • scoot65
    scoot65 Posts: 487 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Many thanks for the replies. Much food for thought.
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