How will the mooted Lloyds and RBS break-up affect Scotland?

Plans to break up and sell parts of both Lloyds and RBS are due to be unveiled in the next few days, meaning bankers north of the border will be on tenterhooks over the possible implications for jobs in Scotland.

The European Commission is due to rule on what assets Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland must sell in return for millions of pounds of state aid.

While this is hardly a new revelation, it's now imminent (this Saturday is considered a safe bet) and reports in the Independent saying government sources were "determined" to see more competition in the UK banking sector following last year's merger activity will hardly re-assure employees at both banks.

There's also the suggestion that the EC's <a href="https://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/fde0bd24-c274-11de-be3a-00144feab49a.html" target="_blank"radical break-up of ING on Monday should serve as a warning about what's to come for the UK banks.

Lloyds is expected to sell its franchise in Scotland, which comprises 200 branches, but it's unlikely it will be forced to divest its Halifax brands as was initially threatened by the EC.

RBS is also likely to sell some branches, but speculation at the moment suggests RBS-branded outlets are likely go in England and Wales, while NatWest's Scottish branches could also be up for sale. Another option that's been touted is the resurrection and subsequent sale of its Williams & Glyn's brand, which had 330 branches in the northwest of England.

Opinion is also divided on just how much RBS will be required to sell off. The Wall Street Journal, for instance, says: "RBS could be forced into disposals above the 40% reduction in its balance sheet that its strategic review already proposed."

Analysts at Cazenove are more optimistic: "Estimates already reflect the run-down of non-core operations and so incremental conditions attached to SME banking are unlikely in our view to prove material or challenging to the group. We estimate a reduction in pre-tax of no more than 250m."

But, after months of worry and speculation, bankers in Scotland will find out about their fates very soon indeed.