Ministerial Foreword - First Minister of Scotland
Scotland: achieving sustainable economic growth - facing the future in partnership
Welcome to the third Annual Report of the Strategy for the Financial Services Industry in Scotland.
This has been an exciting year. The new Government, elected last May, has been busy delivering for the people of Scotland. Notable achievements include the preparation of our spending plans for the next three years, Parliamentary approval for our first Budget, and the publication of the Government Economic Strategy. This Strategy guides the decisions and the economic ambitions of the Scottish Government and it highlights Scotland's financial services industry as one of our priority industries.
The Financial Services Advisory Board ( FiSAB) - the pioneering collaboration between Government and the wider public sector, trade unions, our higher education sector and the financial services industry - is the cornerstone of a partnership which can deliver success for our businesses and for the whole country. We are all aware of the challenges in today's global financial markets and the Scottish Government believes that we are stronger when we face these challenges together.
As this report makes clear, Scotland's financial services industry continues to build on the remarkable growth and success of the past decade. Over the last year - and during difficult global conditions - Scotland's financial services industry has recorded continued growth and attracted new business from several world-leading financial institutions. These companies will enhance Scotland's position as a leading European financial centre, which now employs around 86,000 people directly and supports many more in related industries.
Over the last year, we have broadened the reach of the Strategy. Five new delivery groups, bringing together experts from the public and private sector, trade unions and our professional bodies, provided a wider pool of knowledge and expertise to drive forward delivery on the aims of the Strategy.
Events this year have made clearer than ever the interconnectedness of global financial markets, and their potential impact on the real economy. This interconnectedness presents new risks and new challenges for our industry - and for policymakers worldwide. It also creates important new opportunities for Scotland's financial services industry - and the chance to build on our reputation for innovation and excellence.
I was delighted when, in March this year, the Financial Times Group, in an international survey, awarded Scotland the title of Europe's place of the future. And I know that in financial services, Scotland has major strengths - our world-class workforce; our strong expertise in banking, insurance and investments; and the major competitive advantage that we offer through risk minimisation and cost competitiveness - that provides the foundation for long term success.
I am pleased, as Chair of FiSAB, to be joined on the Board by both John Swinney, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth and Jim Mather, Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism, in working with our partners to achieve our ambitious agenda for the future.
There are exciting challenges ahead for all of us and very good reasons to be positive about the prospects for Scotland's financial services and the Scottish economy. I am confident that working together, through the FiSAB partnership, we can deliver future growth and prosperity for the financial services industry and for the people of Scotland.
The Right Honourable Alex Salmond MPMSP, First Minister of Scotland
Industry Foreword - John Campbell
Scotland: working in partnership for continuing success and growth
I referred in last year's report to "the highly competitive and fast-changing global environment in which the financial services industry operates". We have seen some very clear illustrations of that in the year to March 2008. However, I believe Scotland has continued to exhibit the qualities that make us both successful and resilient as a centre for excellence and innovation in financial services.
Scotland's reputation in international financial services is well-known and well-recognised. Central to that success is our diversity; all of the main sectors of the industry are well represented in Scotland and the professional and other support services stand comparison with any in the world. Scotland's history as a centre for innovation in financial services is unrivalled and we provide a secure and well-regulated environment for companies aiming to operate in global markets.
But the Financial Services Advisory Board, this unique partnership between Government, the industry and trade unions, adds a new dimension to that environment. The work of the Board has continued without interruption in 2007, reinvigorated by the change of Scottish Government in May. The commitment of Ministers in the new administration to the work of FiSAB, which is very important to the industry, has been both very clear and very welcome.
FiSAB's work this year has focused on its three priorities: skills, infrastructure and promotion. Progress in each is highlighted in the report but I have been particularly impressed by the work we have seen to improve understanding of financial matters among our young people. This is not only of benefit to them as individuals, since such understanding is an essential part of life in a modern market economy, but also of long-term benefit to our financial services industry and, indeed, to Scotland as a whole.
The Scottish financial services industry looks forward to building over the coming years on the successful collaboration with our partners in Government, in higher education and the trades unions that is reflected in this report.
John Campbell, FiSAB Industry Deputy Chair (and Chairman, Scottish Financial Enterprise and Senior Managing Director, State Street Corporation)