RBS 'could quit an independent Scotland' RBS is headquartered in Edinburgh, with 90,000 employees across the UK and 26m customers. Alex Salmond, Scotland's first minister, rejected concerns about the future of RBS in Scotland, saying that he thought the comments made by Sir Philip were "very positive." "I think when you've got a bunch of people on a committee who are pursuing a political agenda, they try to trap people into saying things," he said. I thought Philip Hampton was very clear in his statement that the Royal Bank is headquartered in Scotland. Stephen Boyle, head of group economic affairs at RBS, told the committee that indepedence or staying part of the United Kingdom would be "economically neutral." Also on Tuesday, senior peers warned that the deal to stage the Scottish independence referendum signed by David Cameron and Alex Salmond could be declared "unlawful" if challenged in court. The Lords Constitution committee concluded the Edinburgh Agreement could be judicially reviewed and found to be ultra vires because the legislation upon which it is based deals with devolution, not independence. Although the lords conceded any challenge was unlikely to succeed, they said they cannot rule out a protester raising legal action that would bring "delay and disruption" to the referendum.