Mr Buchanan is chairman, Scotland for the Royal Bank of Scotland, and the bank’s managing director for corporate & commercial banking, responsible for serving the banking needs of some of Scotland’s largest companies. He was appointed to the board of Scottish Financial Enterprise (SFE) in early December and is the fifth new addition to the board in 2019.

More than 40% of the SFE board have joined this year including; Sue Dawe, EY’s head of financial services, Scotland in May; Philip Grant of Lloyds Banking Group who took over the role of SFE chairman in June; Anthony Rafferty, managing director of FinTech company Origo Services Limited and Vida Rudkin, a managing director of Morgan Stanley who were both appointed at the end of September.

Philip Grant, SFE chairman, said: “Malcolm is one of the leading figures within Scotland’s financial services industry and it is a huge honour to have him join the SFE board of directors. His extensive experience will be of significant value to our expanding and increasingly diverse membership.

“The SFE board reflects the strength and depth of the financial services community in Scotland which is home to a raft of committed and talented people. The organisation continues to drive forward with and make significant progress with our ambitious industry strategy.”

Malcolm Buchanan, SFE board director, added: “I am delighted to be joining the board of Scottish Financial Enterprise. Our industry is core to the Scottish economy and SFE makes a positive impact on the outcomes and experience of our customers, clients and communities which we serve. I am fortunate to be joining a proactive and supportive organisation and I look forward to helping participate in its future success and prepare our sector for the opportunities which lie ahead.”

In the last 12 months SFE has initiated and/or supported a number of significant strategic developments including; the launch of the first prospectus designed to promote the collective might of the industry; the introduction of a new, innovative recruitment hub in Glasgow as well as the creation of a Scotland-wide schools programme providing a vital and unique opportunity to promote Scotland’s financial services to young people from all backgrounds.

There is also evidence of a surge of interest and participation in the industry by those at the early stages of their career with a 60% increase in the membership of the SFE Young Professionals (YP) network. This follows the appointment of a new chairperson for the group earlier this year and two deputy chairpeople, one in Edinburgh and one in Glasgow.