This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Scotland - open for business
06/06/2005
Companies have been urged to choose Scotland as the
location for their headquarters and business services.
The call came from First Minister Jack McConnell as he
opened the Clydesdale Bank Financial Services Centre in
Glasgow.
This new facility, in the heart of Glasgow's
International Financial Services District, will ensure that
the Bank has a secure future in Scotland.
The First Minister said:
"For hundreds of years Scotland has been the home of
financial services. Our banks are among the most successful
in the world and our people the most highly skilled. Our
reputation for excellence across the globe is one of which
we can be rightly proud.
"Our door is open to the world and our message is clear.
Scotland is a country where you can grow your business.
Scotland is a country where you have access to everything
you need to take on the world. Quite simply, we want more
companies to make Scotland their home.
"The Clydesdale Bank has been in Glasgow for over 170
years. This new facility that I am opening today will mean
that they can look forward to being here in the city for
many decades to come. I wish them every success."
Scotland has a strong and dynamic financial services
industry:
- it makes a major contribution to the life and
economy of Scotland, generating £5bn (nearly 6 per
cent) of Scottish GDP
- it accounts for 9.3 per cent of Scottish jobs,
employing 108,000 directly and almost 90,000 more in a
range of related industries. Including other effects,
this amounts to more than 220,000 jobs in Scotland
- it is one of the fastest growing sectors of the
Scottish economy. In the last five years financial
services in Scotland grew by 36.5 per cent, almost four
times faster than the overall Scottish economy and
twice as fast as the whole of the UK financial services
industry
Scotland has a long history of innovation and excellence
in financial services. Today the industry is particularly
strong in banking, life assurance and pensions, investment
management and asset servicing. It also has vibrant general
insurance, corporate finance and broking services sectors,
and a strong community of professional advisors and
suppliers.
Scotland is now one of Europe's leading financial
centres and the UK's second largest financial services hub
after London. Many global financial services companies are
headquartered and located in Scotland, servicing worldwide
markets and utilising the benefits of easy access to the
key London and European markets.