This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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FiSAB Annual Report 2006
15/05/2006
The Financial Services Advisory Board (FiSAB) today published their 2006 annual report at a business breakfast in Edinburgh, hosted by Scottish Financial Enterprise.
The report sets out the successes of the first year of the strategy and looks at the plans and priorities for the year ahead.
Chair of the FisAB, First Minister Jack McConnell, said:
"I congratulate all those who have been involved in this pioneering partnership over the past year and I look forward to continuing to work with FiSAB over the coming months and years.
"Our Scottish government is totally committed to supporting this country's financial services industry from the very top.
"We will continue our efforts to make Scotland a great place to do business and we will play to our strengths.
"We face tough competition from many up and coming financial centres and our reputation alone will not maintain our global standing. So investing in people and investing in infrastructure will continue to be a priority.
"And we will work with the industry to maintain and enhance our international profile.
"Working together in this way, I believe that we can continue to ensure that Scotland is home to one of the most vibrant - and profitable - financial services industries in the world."
Key achievements identified in the annual report include:
- Raising the profile of the industry amongst career advisors and career changers through initiatives such as familiarisation tours of financial services firms in which over 600 people took part.
- Introducing 200 pupils and students to the industry through e-mentoring relationships with staff from 10 companies.
- Helping to prompt improvements in mobile phone coverage on the Glasgow-Edinburgh rail line.
- Helping to secure more direct flights from Scotland to other financial centres (including a new route from Edinburgh to Geneva).
- Developing and delivering clear and consistent promotional messages about Scotland as a leading international financial services centre, through improved co-ordination between the public and private sectors.
John Campbell, FiSAB Industry Deputy Chair, said:
"The first year of our joint initiative has seen real progress in areas vital to the industry such as improvements to transport and communications infrastructure, skills development and supply, and the cost and ease of doing business from Scotland. Important foundations have been laid on which we will now build further, working together to the advantage of the financial services industry and the economy of Scotland."
Deputy First Minister Nicol Stephen, who is vice chair of FiSAB, said:
"Scotland has a well-deserved reputation for innovation and excellence, due - not least - to the phenomenal success of our home grown companies.
"To maintain this position, Scotland must continue to be competitive as a first choice location for investment.
"It is very important that RBS has just opened its new global headquarters here in Scotland and that HBOS continues to have its HQ here. I am under no illusions: these global players had other choices.
"We also need to continue to attract important international players. Over half of the world's top 20 financial services companies have substantial operations in Scotland, including HBOS and RBS.
"Over the past year, we have also seen other major international companies significantly increase their operations in Scotland including BNP Paribas, Citigroup, HSBC, Jardine Lloyd Thomson, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley."
Key priorities for the next twelve months set out in the report include:
- Improving the skills levels of existing and potential employees by delivering and continuously improving a range of targeted skills initiatives.
- Improving communications connectivity by influencing the development and application of new technologies to support "working on the move" between and around Scotland's financial services centres.
- Continuing to raise Scotland's profile as a leading international financial services centre.
- Encouraging and supporting continuing innovation and best practice within the industry by delivering a programme of seminars and events that will bring together leading industry thinkers, experts and academics.
- Strengthening the capabilities and competitiveness of the Scottish supplier community.
The Strategy for the Financial Services Industry in Scotland: 2006 Annual Report is available at www.scotland.gov.uk/financialservices
The Strategy for the Financial Services Industry in Scotland was developed by the Financial Services Strategy Group and published in March 2005. It aims to build on the success of the financial services industry in Scotland and sets out a route forward taking into account important elements such as skills, infrastructure, innovation and promotion. The Strategy is available at www.scotland.gov.uk/financialservices
FiSAB was set up to deliver the 'Strategy for the Financial Services Industry in Scotland'. It is a unique partnership of the industry, the Trade Unions and the public sector 4. It is the only group of this nature that the First Minister chairs and his decision to play a leading role in FiSAB demonstrates the Scottish Government's commitment to this key industry. 5. Scotland has a strong and dynamic financial services industry:
- it makes a major contribution to the life and economy of Scotland, generating #6bn (over 6 per cent) of Scottish GDP
- it accounts for over 9 per cent of Scottish jobs, employing 113,000 directly and around 90,000 more in a range of related industries.
- it is one of the fastest growing sectors of the Scottish economy. In the last five years the financial services industry in Scotland grew by 36 per cent, four times faster than the overall Scottish economy and over 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 Scotland has particular strengths 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. 7. Scotland is one of Europe's leading financial centres and the UK's second largest financial services hub after London. 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. 8. Membership of the Financial Services Advisory Board is:
- First Minister, FiSAB Chair
- Deputy First Minister
- John Campbell, FiSAB Industry Deputy Chair; Chairman, SFE; and Managing Director, State Street Corporation
- Ian Ferguson - Director of Underwriting (Commercial), Norwich Union
- Martin Gilbert - Chief Executive, Aberdeen Asset Management
- Trevor Mathews - Chief Executive Life and Pensions UK and Europe, Standard Life
- Lisa Stephenson - Director, Lloyds TSB Scotland
- Ben Thomson - Chief Executive, Noble Group
- Otto Thoresen - Chief Executive, Aegon UK
- Margaret Wallace - Executive Director, Morgan Stanley
- Willie Watt - Chief Executive, Martin Currie
- David Fleming - National Officer, Amicus
- Graeme Dickson - Head of Enterprise and Industrial Affairs Group, Scottish Executive
- Jack Perry - Chief Executive, Scottish Enterprise