Scotland couldn't afford the bank bailouts

FALSE

Claim:
The UK promised £65bn to RBS and HBOS. Scotland could not have afforded to do this. Ergo, Scotland could not afford independence.

Facts:
The UK was not the only country to bail out UK banks. The USA also promised £285bn to RBS. Why? Because the USA is where RBS does most of its business. They key point is it's the jurisdiction where the risks are exposed that agrees to cover those risks, not the country where the bank is headquartered. And in the UK, approximately 90% of RBS business is done in the City. If a Scottish Government wanted to go down the same route, they would only have to find £6.5bn to bail out RBS and HBOS.

Not convinced? Consider the case of Belgian bank Fortis, with risks exposed across the Low Countries. It was bailed out in 2008 to the tune of £8.9bn by a consortium of the Belgium, Dutch and Luxembourg governments.

Please correct anyone mentioning this point when they bring it up.