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

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

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

Despite the redundancies announced at Lloyds banking Group this year, and last week's announcement to sell certain divisions, the firm has announced another 5,000 job cuts, around 1,000 of which will hit Scotland. The overlaps caused by the merger between Lloyds and HBOS last year have yet to be entirely ironed out, and the latest redundancies are an attempt to reduce these. The 5,000 job losses will be throughout the UK... 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

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 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

While financial services employment in Scotland has been shrinking since the middle of last year, official statistics show that not too many people have lost their jobs so far. Staffing levels in the sector are currently higher than in June 2007.Figures from the Office of National Statistics show that financial services employment in Scotland stood at 88,300 in March 2009 (the latest stats available) – down from the highs of... Read more

Before you start using the term 'green shoots' in relation to Scotland's financial sector, it's worth noting we’re probably only around a third of the way through redundancy announcements. So, where are the cuts likely to fall and are there any reasons for optimism? The job cuts so far in Scotland’s financial services sector are just “the tip of the iceberg” according to the latest Ernst&Young Scottish Item Club report into... Read more

Just how many financial services jobs have been lost, or are likely to go, in Scotland remains a murky area. However, new estimates suggest that a further 4,500 posts could to be made redundant. Skills Development Scotland, quoting statistics from the Business, Enterprise and Regulatory reform department, says filings from firms like RBS, Lloyds Banking Group, Standard Life and Aegon suggest a further 4,500 job cuts are on the cards. The revelation... Read more

As a percentage (8%), the number of jobs likely to be lost in Scotland's financial centre over the next couple of years doesn't look too daunting. But the actual number, 24,000, looks very scary indeed. Following RBS's gargantuan 9,000 redundancies announced last week, and speculation that the merger between HBOS and Lloyds TSB could eventually see 10,000 jobs lost in Scotland, the latest projections by DTZ, for Scottish Enterprise, don't look... Read more

Considering the rising redundancies and battered reputations of Scottish banks it’s difficult to envisage a time when financial services north of the border is likely to face a skills-shortage again. However, with one eye on the future, the Financial Services Skills Council (FSSC) is targeting schools in an attempt to develop a pipeline of talent. The FSSC is rolling out its Directions website – aimed at careers advisors, teachers,... Read more

It’s taken a while, but Scotland’s Financial Services Advisory Board (FiSAB) has created a task force to minimise redundancies in the sector north of the border. After its first meeting since the pre-Lehman collapse, halcyon days of early September, FiSAB has outlined plans to establish a Finance Sector Jobs Task Force. Sounds grand doesn’t it? In practice, it’s a collaboration between industry players, unions, the government, Scottish Enterprise and Universities... Read more