Scotland is internationally recognised as the most
important UK financial centre outside London and the South East, with a
breadth of services including global custody, asset servicing, banking,
investment management, corporate finance, general / life assurance and
pensions. Although Scotland's banking sector, like banks across the
globe, has experienced significant difficulties this does not reflect
the industry-wide picture and recent announcements of expansion and
investment plans by financial services companies have buoyed prospects
for the future, for example, Tesco Bank; Virgin Money and HSBC all plan
to create new jobs in Scotland.
Financial services remains a vital contributor to the
overall success of the economy of Scotland as a whole. This is due not
only to its importance in terms of employment and direct contribution to
output, but also because of the impact the banking sector has on private
sector growth.
The latest data available from the Business Register and
Employment Survey show the industry employs over 94,000 people in
Scotland with more than half of these working in banking. Across Great
Britain, Scottish financial services accounts for the second highest
proportion of total employment in the regional economy, and makes the
second highest contribution to gross value added (GVA) within the local
economy across the UK.
The Big Money Question
