The financial services industry continues to be one of the fastest growing sectors of the Scottish economy. Scotland’s financial services industry has grown by 96 per cent since the beginning of 1998, with a management and knowledge base to support work across a variety of disciplines.
A world-class academic sector, a tradition of excellence in financial services management and competitive salary rates are just a few of the reasons why companies continue to invest in Scotland.
- Scotland is the second largest financial hub in the UK, after London.
- Financial services accounts for over 10 per cent of Scottish jobs, directly employing 86,000 people, with 70,000 more working in support services.
- 50 per cent of the world’s top 20 financial organisations have substantial operations in Scotland.
- A world-class infrastructure is already in place.
- Financial services management and operations make a major contribution to the life and economy of Scotland, generating around £7 billion annually.
Find out more key facts and figures specific to each financial services sector in Scotland.
Financial services in Scotland – banking
Financial services in Scotland – insurance and pensions
The UK headquarters of four major insurance companies (Standard Life, Scottish Widows, AEGON UK and Bright Grey – a division of Royal London) are located Scotland.
- General insurance, life assurance and pensions services employ nearly 20,000 people in Scotland.
- Other services managed from Scotland include annuities, health insurance and investment products.
- Life assurance companies based in Scotland manage over £726 billion of funds.
Financial services in Scotland – asset management and servicing
- Scotland has been established as a centre of excellence in asset servicing for nearly 30 years.
- Major global asset servicing organisations employ nearly 4000 people in Scotland.
- Business activities delivered by asset servicing companies from Scotland include custody, securities servicing, investment accounting, performance measurement, trustee and depositary services, treasury services, shareholder services, compliance, retail fund administration and client management.
- Companies in Scotland include Bank of New York, BNP Paribas Securities Services, Citigroup, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley and State Street.
- Funds under administration in Scotland totalled £685 billion in March 2007.
Financial services in Scotland – investment management
- Scotland is a major global investment management centre, with over £580 billion in funds managed directly in Scotland.
- Leading companies include AEGON Asset Management, Franklin Templeton Investments, Martin Currie, Aberdeen Asset Management and Standard Life Investments.
Find out more about financial services management in Scotland and why Scotland is such an attractive location for financial services investment.