Scottish Financial Enterprise, City of London Corporation and Scottish Government met in Edinburgh on Thursday to discuss opportunities for growth on a key day of engagement for Scottish financial sector.

Industry leaders welcomed Chris Hayward, policy chair, City of London Corporation, who is visiting Scotland to discuss the importance of collaboration between Scottish financial services and the City of London – the UK’s two largest financial centres.

As well as addressing industry leaders at an event in Edinburgh, he also joined the Financial Services Growth and Development Board, the flagship forum for Scottish financial services and the Scottish Government, as it met for its first meeting of 2024.

The meeting, co-chaired by Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy Màiri McAllan and Sue Dawe, managing partner at EY Scotland and SFE deputy chair, focused on how the sector can enhance its contribution to the Scottish economy and build financial inclusion.

First minister Humza Yousaf agreed a new partnership with the City of London Corporation in January, including an enhanced framework to promote Scotland and London as centres of excellence for financial services.

Thursday’s events came as Scotland increased its position in the internationally recognised Global Financial Centres Index. Edinburgh moved up one place to number 32 while Glasgow jumped nine places to number 42. London also posted a positive result, closing in slightly on New York for first place.

A recent report by TheCityUK also highlighted that employment in Scotland’s financial and related professional services industry increased by around 13,000 to 149,000 between 2021 and 2022. The sector is already the largest contributor to the Scottish economy, worth around £14.3 billion GVA, and the second largest exporter, exporting £9.2bn worth of services in 2021.

SFE, which represents the Scottish financial sector, launched a new sector growth strategy in October, outlining the sector’s ambition to grow by £4-7bn over the next five years.

Other targets in the strategy include improving financial inclusion by increasing coverage of basic bank accounts and increasing the number, increasing the number of employees in the sector, and increasing the sector’s position in the Global Financial Centres Index.

Wellbeing Economy Secretary Màiri McAllan said: “We are delighted to welcome the significant progress which has been made towards developing Glasgow and Edinburgh as global financial centres of excellence.

“Outside of London, Scotland has the largest financial services centre and is the most attractive location for foreign direct investment in the UK.

“Our enhanced framework with the City of London Corporation signed by the First Minister in January is supporting further investment opportunities in Scotland, supporting jobs and driving growth into Scotland’s economy.”

Sandy Begbie CBE FRSE, chief executive of Scottish Financial Enterprise, said: “These results demonstrate the continued strength, resilience and contribution of Scotland’s world class financial services industry and we believe there is even greater potential just waiting to be unleashed.

“We are hugely ambitious to grow the sector and to ensure that this growth benefits everyone in Scotland.

“Careers in financial services pay significantly more than the national average, so continued job creation in our sector is essential to expand the tax base and support the funding of our vital public services.

“Collaboration with both the Scottish and UK governments as well as key partners like City of London Corporation is key to achieving this ambition.

“Today was an important opportunity for us to come together, discuss the huge opportunities our sector is pursuing and the benefits it brings to the Scottish economy, as well as to consider how we can overcome some of the key challenges we are facing.”

Chris Hayward, policy chair at City of London Corporation, said: “The twin financial and professional services sectors of London and Scotland represent a critical part of the UK economy.

“We’ve been delighted to partner with Scottish Financial Enterprise and the Scottish Government on a range of issues where we have alignment and shared challenges: in sustainable finance, technology, talent, and growth.

“Today’s discussions further underscore the importance of collaboration in maximising the potential of both regions.”