LONDON: Royal Bank of Scotland has reminded its tens of thousands of British staff not to tell customers how they plan to vote in a referendum on European Union membership, fearing they could influence the undecided.
After months of campaigning, Britons will head to the ballot box on June 23 and polls indicate a close outcome, with many people said to be unsure which way to vote.
State-backed RBS, one of Britain's largest mortgage providers and the country's largest lender to small-to-medium sized British firms, has told staff to stay tightlipped on the referendum in a guidance document first published on internal websites in April and re-posted on June 7.
The document reminded employees of the importance of maintaining a neutral position when talking to customers and not to disclose personal opinions in case they inadvertently influenced people. RBS confirmed the guidance but declined to comment further.
The communication is the latest in a series of referendum-linked memos sent by banks to staff in the run up to the vote.
Several British lenders have supplied 'question and answer' scenarios to staff to help them respond to customer queries on June 24, with foreign exchange risks expected to be the biggest concern, sources told Reuters.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofA) emailed its employees on June 2 to encourage them to register to vote, providing logistical information and website links on how and when to vote, three sources told Reuters.
That followed a note sent by US rival Citi on Wednesday, warning staff that a Brexit would likely result in a need to "rebalance" its operations across the EU. JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Jamie Dimon last week said a Brexit could mean fewer UK jobs at the bank. Citi and JPMorgan have both donated six-figure sums to the Remain campaign.
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