eFinancialCareers

The private banking sector is heating up in Scotland, but pay still lags far behind other financial centres.

Standard Life Investments is the latest to add a wealth management feather to its cap, following on from HSBC Private Banking, which opened up an Edinburgh branch in January.

Other smaller boutique wealth managers like Rathbone Brothers, Bell Lawrie White, and Adam & Co. all provide investment services to Scotland’s upper crust.

Standard Life, which is targeting the £2m+ crowd, isn’t restricting itself to Scotland, however. Across the UK, it reckons there are 500,000 adults living in households with on average £2.3m and around 1,500 charities with liquid assets in excess of £2m.

However, in the notoriously difficult-to-recruit-for arena of wealth management, how will Scotland manage to attract the crème de la crème of the industry if it’s only offering relative peanuts?

For example, a senior relationship manager in Scotland brings in just £50k, according to recruiters, but the top end in London can pay up to £120k.

Nonetheless, Iain Morrison, banking consultant at recruiters Change CRS in Edinburgh, reckons Scotland’s private banks are looking beyond their borders to vie for talent.

“There’s a mix – it's either people who are looking to relocate from down south and may have a private banking background. Alternatively, there are candidates here who either have a private client background or are looking to progress from business banking up through to dealing with private clients.”

He adds that Scottish institutions are realising they might not have private bankers hammering at their doors, so are becoming more flexible in their candidate criteria and taking people without specific private banking experience.

Joanna Black, partner at Scottish headhunters Black Appointments, adds: “Private banking is an area that is very active currently in Scotland. However, Scottish firms will have to start upping salaries if they are going to attract talent from outside the country.”