Finance news Scotland | Job market news, recruitment & career trends for the job seeker in Scotland for the financial markets

The North Sea oil industry may no longer be the revenue earner it once was, but wealth management and private banking still appear to be in demand in Aberdeen. The number of private bankers and wealth managers in the city may be relatively small compared with some of the bigger Scottish hubs but it is nevertheless growing, point out recruiters. “It’s not on the scale of what goes on in Edinburgh, Glasgow... Read more

It’s unlikely to happen overnight, but with the London financial jobs’ market surging ahead and Lloyds Banking Group and (increasingly) RBS now being run from London, Scotland faces an uphill battle in preventing a talent drain down south. Former RBS chief economist Jeremy Peat warned late last year that Edinburgh risked losing its status as a major hub for financial services as the “centre of gravity” increasingly shifted to London. Morgan McKinley’s... Read more

As we've alluded to previously, Scotland has ambitions to become a larger wealth management player and firms have been bolstering their ranks throughout 2009. Going into the new year, this recruitment spree shows no signs of abating. Newton Investment Management has hired Matthew Coyle and Matthew Day for its Edinburgh private investment management team – both will be working within its portfolio management team. Mike Connor, investment director at Newton, said the... Read more

Pay rises in Scotland financial sector may be rarer than a banker-praising politician at the moment, but benefit packages appear to have remained relatively in tact. However, even this has an element of the scrooge about it. The latest Scottish financial services employment review by recruiters Joslin Rowe shows that 83% of firms surveyed intend to maintain the same benefits package as last year. In the 2009 survey, 61% said... Read more

Scotland's bankers are depressed. The ever-present threat of redundancy hanging over the country's financial sector for the last 18 months means morale is at an all-time low. So, how can you motivate yourself to make the best of a bad situation? In his forthcoming presentation to the Scottish Parliament banking enquiry, Rob MacGregor of the union Unite, is set to point to the morale crisis in the facing the country's banking... Read more

Considering the nearly unremitting gloom surrounding Scotland's financial sector in 2009, we thought we'd kick-start the new year by offering our projections on where the jobs are likely to be created in 2010. Asset management: Scotland's asset management firms had shown a tentative appetite to recruit once again towards the end of 2009 and this looks like gaining a little more momentum in 2010. "Growth in global equity funds plus absolute return regulated... Read more

It’s safe to say that there are few areas of the financial services industry in Scotland that had a particularly enjoyable 2009. However, certain sectors weathered the crisis better than others this year. Here’s our considered opinion. 2009 has been a good year for… Wealth management: Even amid the nearly universal gloom surrounding Scottish financial services at the beginning of 2009, sentiment around the wealth management sector was positive... Read more

We've all seen variations on the list of common questions interviewers ask, but how much have you thought about what questions you should ask a potential employer? The best interviews are really conversations, as well they should be. You want to know if the position is the right fit - just as much as the company does. After all, the work you do makes up a good portion of your waking... Read more

The spectre of a further 3,000 Scottish financial services job losses, combined with negligible growth prospects for the next four years, suggests that there's little to cheer in the winter Ernst & Young Scottish Item Club economic report. However, it might not be entirely bleak. There were just 4,300 financial services job losses in the 15 months to June 2009, according to E&Y's report – a long way below its previous... Read more

With seemingly ever-increasing horrors engulfing Scotland's banking sector, it's natural for the financial services industry as a whole to look for positives. Wealth management, not traditionally a significant area of focus north of the border, has weathered the storm well and is now tipped to grow even more. One endorsement comes from Scottish first minister Alex Salmond, who believes that the sector offers a "good opening" for the country's financial... Read more

It's official – financial services firms in Scotland are hiring again, and in greater numbers than at any time since November 2008. But while this is an excellent hook for politicians to talk about an economic recovery north of the border, it would be wrong to suggest a definite upturn has taken place. Official data shows that over 1,400 financial jobs were advertised during the month of September, representing 49%... Read more

As Lloyds Banking Group prepares to off-load the Bank of Scotland private banking arm to Rathbone Brothers at the expense of 40 jobs, the advice to those on the receiving end of the redundancies is to get out now while firms north of the border are recruiting. Lloyds has confirmed that it will be transferring £1.27bn worth of funds under management to private banking firm Rathbone Brothers for £35.4m. Andy Pomfret,... Read more

While Scotland-based employees in the corporate and retail divisions of Lloyds Banking Group are still anxiously awaiting news of yet more potential job cuts, those in other functions are being lured away by competing firms north of the border. Edinburgh-based wealth manager Rensburg Sheppards has poached a team of eight portfolio managers away from Bank of Scotland private banking. In a rather bizarre state of affairs, Lloyds is apparently... Read more

Stepping into the gargantuan shoes of Sir Sandy "Standard Lifer" Crombie was never going to be an easy task, but the firm has searched within for his successor, choosing current finance director David Nish. Below is a version of his CV fashioned entirely by us from facts we have elicited about his career to date. How can you follow in his footsteps? Study hard, rise up the ranks and don't... Read more

Scotland is looking to lure more wealth management firms north of the border in a bid to create some high-end banking jobs. So far this year, it seems to have been relatively successful in this sector anyway. The Scottish government is hoping that Edinburgh and Glasgow can compete with other financial centres in the Middle East and Europe in attracting wealth management firms. Alex Salmond told Bloomberg that the SNP administration... Read more

Scotland is keen to tout itself as an attractive destination for international financial services firms to set up shop (and hence create jobs north of the border). However, the turmoil surrounding the domestic banking sector has seen its reputation tarnished on the global stage. Scotland has not fared very well at all in the latest Global Financial Centre Index, which ranks 75 cities in terms of their competitiveness against one another.... Read more

Devolution in Scotland is, of course, a thorny issue, particularly since the SNP's new referendum for independence. But, when it relates to the financial services industry, few are willing to climb down off the fence. This is beginning to change. The UK government is currently getting stick from all areas of the financial services industry – for everything from income tax to bonus proposals – for undermining the competitiveness of the... Read more

The situation might not be great for graduates looking for a career within financial services in Scotland at the moment, but plans to create nearly 500 apprenticeships for college leavers will provide a welcome boost. But they be keen to take them up considering the battered image of the industry? Alex Salmond, Scotland's first minister, revealed plans for 460 apprenticeships within financial services, as part of a wider scheme rolled out... Read more

Royal Bank of Scotland's plans to scale back its final salary pension scheme will hardly come as welcome news to staff already living with the threat of redundancy. However, those with most to lose from the cuts may well be its young employees with high earning potential. The 62,500 members of RBS's final salary pension scheme are understandably up in arms about the bank's plans to cap annual increases at 2%... Read more

Another wealth management boutique looks set to open an Edinburgh office, providing more evidence of the sector's seeming resilience to the financial crisis north of the border. Ruffer Investment Management, a London-based wealth management boutique, is due to open an office in the Scottish capital and is currently in the process of recruiting a team to support investment director, Hamish Baillie, who is going to lead the new office. The firm... Read more