Bank’s dilemma

There have been many letters in these pages on the question of whether or not Scotland would enter into a currency union with the Westminster government in the event of a Yes vote.

All letters, including my own, have considered the various technical difficulties that could arise, but no-one seems to be thinking about the ethical questions.

In the event of a conflict of interests, it is assumed that the Bank of England would adopt policies which favour rUK.

There is a little clue in the name “Bank of England”, and it is impossible to imagine the Bank favouring five million Scots over 60 million others.

But this could be an ethical problem for senior Bank officials. If the Bank enters into a currency union with Scotland, it must accept the clear moral imperative to act in Scotland’s best interests.

Where this conflicts with rUK’s interests, there will be an impossible moral dilemma for the Bank.

Leaving aside obvious cheap shots about banks and morals, it is difficult to see that the Bank would wish to place its people in such a position.

For this reason alone, before technical issues are even discussed, a currency union might well be ruled out.

Graham M McLeod

Muirs

Kinross