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Overview
The Strategy for the Financial Services Industry in Scotland aims to deliver the vision of:
An innovative, competitive and thriving international financial services industry in Scotland, underpinned by world-class infrastructure and universally recognised as a leader on the global stage.
The Financial Services Advisory Board ( FiSAB), the pioneering collaboration between the financial services industry, trade unions, the Scottish Government ( SG), Scottish Enterprise ( SE) and Universities Scotland, is the custodian and advocate of the Strategy for the Financial Services Industry in Scotland (the Strategy).
In leading the development of the Strategy in 2003, the Financial Services Strategy Group ( FSSG), comprising industry leaders, trade unions, government and the wider public sector, formed a unique and equal partnership to define the environment which would ensure that Scotland remains home to an innovative, competitive and thriving financial services industry. The Strategy, launched in March 2005, was a culmination of this work.
FiSAB is supported by the Financial Services Implementation Group ( FiSIG) which delivers the Strategy.
Strategy Annual Reports have been published in 2006, 2007 and 2008 and provide a summary of achievements in delivering Strategy objectives, comparative data on the progress made by the industry in Scotland and an outline of plans for future years. They also proved a successful platform to publicise not only the Strategy, but also Scotland's position as a leading financial services centre.
This fourth Annual Report is published in a period of unprecedented turbulence and change for the global financial services industry. It sets out achievements against planned activity in Year 4, which despite global conditions, are significant. It also reports on actions taken in response to these conditions to ensure the Strategy remains a relevant vehicle to support the industry. FiSIG engaged in a scenario planning exercise, facilitated by experts from the Universities of St Andrews and Edinburgh to identify a range of possible future scenarios and actions which might mitigate risks and capitalise on opportunities created by these scenarios. These actions were, in turn, sense checked against current plans and high level objectives. It was concluded that the actions continue to fit the current pillar structure of the Strategy (see diagram opposite) and that the Strategy and the work of FiSAB is increasingly important. Details of the identified actions are provided in the "Looking to the future" section of this report.
The partnership of FiSAB and FiSIG has proved to be essential in ensuring Scotland's response to global events and future economic upturn. It is clear that both national and international responses to the underlying causes of the current economic climate may result in structural and operational changes within parts of the financial services industry. The FiSAB partnership is clear that its continued collaborative effort will help us meet the difficult challenges ahead in maintaining Scotland's status as a leading financial services centre.
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