Backing banks
YOUR editorial (26 February) repeats the hypothetical canard that an independent Scotland could not have bailed out the Scottish banks.
The banking collapse occurred under the Union and the UK government's lax financial regulations, so an independent Scotland would not have to bail out these banks. Both banks may have name-plates in Edinburgh, but they are an integral part of a global financial centre called the City of London.
Any London government would have to include Scottish banks in any banking bailout because of the significance of these banks for customers in the rest of UK. And it should be noted that in the case of Fortis Bank, a Belgian-based bank, it was bailed out by the governments of the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg to the tune of 11.2 billion (10bn) after investors deserted the bank.
CALUM STEWART
Montague Street
Edinburgh