eFinancialCareers

Could the Scottish reputation for prudence encourage bankers burned by the credit crunch to seek solace north of the border? It seems doubtful, but Simon Thompson, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Bankers in Scotland, seems to think it might be a possibility.

Speaking at a conference recently, he said: “One of the big strengths of the Scottish financial services industry is our emphasis on prudence and professionalism. It's at the very heart of the Scottish brand as a home for financial services.”

According to Thompson, Scotland should make the most of its reputation for prudence while the problems on Wall Street and in the City worsen.

“Current events have added huge urgency to this,” he says.

Putting aside the little problems of rights issues and redundancies at RBS and HBOS, Scotland’s not done too badly so far from the credit crunch. Asset management in particular looks fairly stable – only Aberdeen Asset Management has announced big cuts.

Perhaps the promise of a secure position will convince more bankers to move north of the border.

Gordon Montgomery, director of the financial services practice at Harvey Nash Executive Search, think so: “The virtues of the markets in Scotland are becoming more clearly apparent, which adds substance to the lifestyle issues which have always given Scotland something to offer. Therefore raids south of the border for talented executives will intensify and are likely to meet with increasing success.”

And he reckons that the prudent mentality is a draw for firms looking to outsource investment operations: “Even the fastest-growing sector of the Scottish market – asset servicing/global custody – is by its nature a conservative, detail-oriented sector and one that is perfectly suited to the sort of talents that exist in Scotland.”