Banks and Building Societies
Scotland has a long and distinguished history in banking, with the Bank of Scotland in Edinburgh opening its doors in 1695, only a year later than the Bank of England (itself started by a Scotsman, William Paterson). Today, Scotland hosts the headquarters of two of Europe’s top 10 banks: The Royal Bank of Scotland – the world’s fifth largest bank, and HBOS. It is also the headquarters location of Lloyds TSB Scotland and Clydesdale Bank (part of the National Australia Banking Group), bringing the total number of clearing banks headquartered in Scotland to four. Many other international banks also have operating bases in Scotland, and the sector continues to expand, with Scottish Widows starting its bank in 1995 and Standard Life Bank opening its doors for the first time in 1998.
Key facts and figures
Between them our member companies in this sector employ a workforce of over 47,000 in Scotland. This equates to over two percent of the Scottish working population, demonstrating the significance of Scotland as a banking centre and the importance of the sector to the Scottish economy.
The global nature of the sector is reflected in the number of people our members employ around the world: over 193,000 staff in the rest of the UK, 46,000 in Continental Europe, 92,000 in the US, over 60,000 in Asia, and a further 76,000 throughout in the rest of the world, totaling over 516,000 worldwide. Ninety per cent of SFE's banks and building societies member companies service their UK wide customer base from Scotland.
Our banks and building societies undertake a diverse range of business activities from Scotland including (but not limited to):
- Retail Banking
- Corporate Banking
- Treasury
- Insurance services
- Actuarial services
- Consultancy services
- Mortgage services
- Investment management
- Corporate finance
Key sector statistics for SFE member companies
|
Employment within Scotland |
>47,000 |
|
Employment outside Scotland |
>469,000 |
|
Funds managed in Scotland |
>£27billion |
Did you know?
In most countries it is only governments, through their central banks, that are permitted to issue currency. But in Scotland three banks are still allowed to issue banknotes, The Royal Bank of Scotland, HBOS and Clydesdale Bank. This practice dates back as far as 1695, and was started by the Bank of Scotland (which at the time enjoyed a monopoly over Scottish banking).
In 1875 the Chartered Institute of Bankers in Scotland was founded as a professional and educational body, making it the world’s oldest professional body for practising bankers.
The Dunfermline Building Society was formed in 1869, which makes it the oldest building society in Scotland, as well as one of only two indigenous building societies.
The first mutual savings bank, the Ruthwell Savings Bank, was founded in Scotland in 1810 by the Reverend Henry Duncan, to help provide a saving service for his poor parishioners.
