talentscotland

Industry Overview

Edinburgh Skyline
Edinburgh Skyline

Scotland is a leading centre for financial services in Europe, and is the second largest UK centre for finance after London. There are many international financial services companies headquartered and located in Scotland providing them with easy access to London, European and worldwide markets.

Financial Services - A Growth Sector                                                                                        

Banking, life and pensions and investment management have traditionally been strong sectors and new areas such as asset servicing are now taking off. Indeed recent figures show that financial services continue to be the fastest growing sector of the Scottish economy. In the last five years it grew by 34.4 per cent while the whole of UK financial services grew by 16.6 per cent.

Much of the growth and success of Scottish financial services can be directly attributed to the skilled, stable, flexible and motivate workforce, and there are plenty of opportunities to come and join this expanding industry.

High Quality Employment with the Financial Services sector                                                 

The industry employs 80,000 people directly, and supports a further 70,000 people throughout the country in related jobs. Most of that total are located in central Scotland, in and around Edinburgh and Glasgow; two highly attractive cities, providing you with ample networking opportunities, linkages between companies and a strong knowledge base. Financial Services in Scotland offers high quality employment; 31 per cent of financial services employees are managers and senior officials and 13 per cent work in associate professional and technical roles, average earnings are also significantly higher in financial services than the Scottish average.

Exciting Opportunities from Scotland's Financial Services industry                                                                                                                        

The range of different companies across the whole spectrum of financial services in Scotland means that there should be something to suit everyone. There are opportunities in accounting, compliance, risk analysis auditing, actuary, mortgage advice and information technology, to name just a few.

So if you are looking to further your career in international financial services, and want a great standard of living, then Scotland should be right at the top of your list.

Financial Services in Scotland - Key facts:

  • Scotland ranks second largest to London as a UK financial location
  • Headquarters location of four clearing banks, Royal Bank of Scotland, HBOS, Lloyds TSB Scotland and Clydesdale Bank (part of National Australia Banking Group)
  • UK Headquarters location of four important insurance companies (Standard Life, Scottish Widows, AEGON UK and Bright Grey – a division of Royal London)
  • Major European centre for asset servicing on behalf of fund managers
  • Global fund management centre with over £300 billion managed directly in Scotland of which £250 billion is invested globally in equities and bonds
  • Scottish based life assurance companies manage over £640 billion of funds with over £200 billion of these managed directly from Scotland

More information (1 to 6 of 6)
General Info Fund Management Industry Review - Thanks to its focus on institutional clients, Scotland’s fund management sector has been insulated from the worst affects of the financial crisis.
General Info Scotland Leads the Way with New Investment Accounting Diploma - Not only is the new Investment Accounting Diploma tailor-made, but it fulfils the demands of leading investment employers like Citigroup, J.P.Morgan and Morgan Stanley who were all keenly involved in the project.
General Info Joslin Rowe Recruitment Survey - More than half (52%) of Scotland's financial service firms responding to an annual labour market survey intend to increase headcount in 2010 by up to 10%.
General Info Highlights of Financial Services Announcements in 2009 - Despite the turmoil in the financial markets during 2009, Scotland’s fundamental strengths in this sector remained robust – with more companies setting up and expanding their operations in Scotland and reporting profits.
General Info Wealth Management - Over the centuries, banking expertise has been one of Scotland’s greatest strengths, and a significant part of this has been in wealth management.
General Info Owen Kelly on Scotland's Financial Services Industry - Owen Kelly is Chief Executive of Scottish Financial Enterprise (SFE), the representative body for Scotland's financial services industry.