Scotland's finance sector 'still world class'

Scotland is currently re-establishing its reputation as a globally-respected location in the corporate banking and wealth management sectors, it has been claimed.

According to the Independent, Scotland’s main financial centres have largely managed to retain their status in the banking industry, despite the high-profile problems of the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Although the recent Global Financial Centres Index saw Edinburgh slip seven places to 27th in the world, members of the Scottish capital’s banking sector are confident that its traditional strengths - asset and fund management - will support a full recovery.

’We will get through it. Scotland is recognised as an international financial services centre and asset management is a particular strength,’ Owen Kelly, chief executive of Scottish Financial Enterprise (SFE), told the newspaper.

A spokesperson for SFE echoed Mr Kelly’s comments, adding that ’the long-term savings business is here to stay’.

Figures from the Investment Management Association state that 14 per cent of all UK assets are currently managed out of Edinburgh.

The top five cities identified in last month’s Global Financial Centres Index were London, New York, Hong Kong, Singapore and Shenzhen.
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