eFinancialCareers

Despite posting the second biggest loss (£691m) in UK banking history, analysts say Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is unlikely to make any more redundancies than those already expected from the integration of ABN Amro’s capital markets division. This morning, RBS posted a pre-tax loss of £691m during the first half of this year after being pounded by sub-prime losses of £5.9bn. Sir Fred Goodwin, chief executive of RBS, said it had... Read more

Things are looking grim at Scottish giant HBOS. Not only are its cheeks burning from a £4bn rights issue that left 62% of shares on the underwriters’ books, but it has announced plans to axe 650 jobs in its business banking division over the next 18 months. What hope is there for Scotland’s out of work bankers? The job losses are likely to result from the merger of two... Read more

UK private bank Brown Shipley has set up an Edinburgh office and plans to expand aggressively over the coming 18 months. But is Scotland’s talent pool deep enough to support yet another new player? Brown Shipley has poached Graham Auld and Victoria Drysdale from Deutsche Tilney to run its Edinburgh office and says it has ambitious plans to expand north of the border. John Williams, the firm’s private client divisional... Read more

The indignity of it was too much for one politician to bear. Morgan Stanley, thinking of starting a Glasgow operation last year, was handed £6m by the government to make the move to Scotland. Then it turned out they would have set up here anyway. Fuming, Derek Brownlee MSP, Scottish Conservatives finance spokesman, spluttered: “You can only justify the use of taxpayers’ money to create jobs if they would not... Read more

Financial services professionals are no longer the most in demand in Scotland, but recruiters insist the market is as active as ever. The Bank of Scotland Labour Market Report acts as a barometer of employment in the country, and shows that the number of financial services jobs in Scotland fell slightly in May. In February, accounting and finance had the largest number of vacancies in Scotland. Now the sector ranks... Read more

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... Read more

As Scotland bids for independence from the rest of the UK, there’s the suggestion that its financial services sector could lose out. Global Financial Services Week (GFSW) looks to highlight Scotland’s importance as a financial centre, and the cabinet secretary for finance, John Swinney, took the opportunity to attempt to assuage fears that an independent Scotland could undermine the industry. He said: “We would have to take decisions about the way in... Read more

The Financial Services Advisory Board’s (FiSAB) annual report on Scotland, conveniently timed to coincide with Global Financial Services Week, attempts to paint a pretty picture north of the border. But surely it can’t be that rosy? The report waxes lyrical about various educational initiatives designed to encourage a skilled financial services workforce, and the fact that the industry has grown by 96% since 1998. It’s predicting more success on the... Read more

Bank of Ireland has unveiled plans to double the number of staff it employs in Scotland over the next three years after announcing a 60% income increase. Currently, the numbers Bank of Ireland employs north of the border aren’t exactly huge – around 30 – but it says a push into business and mortgage banking has spurred it to double this figure. The group as a whole has announced a... Read more

Scotland’s financial firms might be showing some signs of trimming staff, but their appetite for graduate recruitment remains undiminished. Faye Chua, head of research at the Financial Services Skills Council (FSSC), says graduate hiring isn’t about to plummet: “Financial services in Scotland is expected to continue to grow, however, not as fast as in the last five years. In terms of graduate recruitment, we expect the levels to remain the... Read more

Scottish financial firms have finally had a reality check and admitted they need to reduce employment numbers after all. In the latest industry survey by Scottish Financial Enterprise, 19% of financial institutions reported a drop in headcount in Q4 of 2007 – up from 7% last time around. Firms looking to bolster their teams this year fell by 11% to 35%, and 46% expect headcount to remain stable. “These quarterly results... Read more

As Scots plans for a local income tax steam ahead, recruiters have begun warning of the dire effect it could have on jobs. One recruiter says the tax proposals, introduced by the SNP as a replacement for council tax, will spell the death of Scotland’s financial services industry. William Finlayson of Scottish search firm Finlayson Wagner Black agrees: “People would think twice about taking up opportunities. The pool of talent... Read more

Scotland’s about to be ravaged by a new breed of global competitor. An ill-prepared and under-qualified workforce won’t do it any favours. At a briefing organised by Scottish Financial Enterprise, Trevor Hatton, managing director, Scotland, at Accenture, peered into his crystal ball to paint a picture of financial services north of the border in 2018. Out of the mists he saw new threats appearing from emerging markets like Dubai, Poland, Mexico... Read more

HBOS has cut bonuses for its top brass for 2007, but may have made it easier for them to earn payouts in 2008. In its annual report for 2007, the bank admitted that its growth had slowed, and said it had slashed short-term cash bonuses for its executives from 69% in 2006 to 46% last year. It also revealed that it would not be paying anything out from its long-term incentive... Read more

HBOS has brushed off sub-prime concerns and announced it’s set to open a global office in Edinburgh. It’s been a turbulent week for the Scottish bank, which blamed the global credit squeeze for a 4% fall in its profit margin on the previous year. However, it only wrote down a comparatively measly £227m in fair value adjustments due to the US sub-prime crisis. Analysts had told us they expected 2008 to be... Read more

Contractors in Scotland may be forced to bite the bullet as financial services firms look to cut back on temps. The temp market has been booming in Scotland over the last year, as soaring headcount requirements and limited talent have forced companies to fill the gaps with contractors. Rates have soared from £250-£300 a day to £350-£400, according to recruiters, which might be the reason the party looks set to end. Steve Shields,... Read more

Plans for a local income tax in Scotland could discourage quality candidates from making the move north of the border. Owen Kelly, chief executive of Scottish Financial Enterprise – which is backed by such financial powerhouses as Royal Bank of Scotland and Standard Life – has told the Scotsman that Government plans for local income tax are troubling his members. He said: “Anything that starts to look like we have people... Read more

Forget the difficulty in finding the people for financial services jobs, Scotland might struggle to find offices to put them in. Property consultant Jones Lang Lasalle has warned that Edinburgh faces a shortage of office space, but it seems it’s not just space in the Scottish capital that’s in short supply. Scotland is fast becoming the region of choice for back-office roles. Citigroup employs around 235 people in Edinburgh, BNP Paribas... Read more

It’s grim tidings at the big four Scottish financial institutions – and lay-offs look likely as firms seek to slash costs, say analysts. The share prices of Royal Bank of Scotland, HBoS and Aberdeen Asset Management all slumped by around 40% last week, suggesting any hopes of Scotland being isolated from the credit crunch were wishful thinking. Does this mean redundancies are on the cards? Leigh Goodwin, an analyst at specialist... Read more