SCOTLAND'S REPUTATION
February 12, 2009
There have been recent assumptions that Scotland's reputation in financial services has been uniquely damaged by the global problems in banking and the fact that 2 very obviously and proudly Scottish companies, RBS and HBOS, have been heavily afflicted by them. This is an understandable conclusion to reach, if one feels oneself to be close to what looks like the eye of a storm. But this is a big storm, with many eyes. And perspective is important. Talking to people who live in Brussels, they worry that Fortis is in a difficult situation, whereas that bank's difficulties are of limited immediate concern to most people in Scotland. Someone I met last week from Paris observed that awareness of problems facing UK banks was high, though nobody she had met had focused that particularly on Scotland. In Shanghai and Hong Kong, and I am guessing in Dubai and Johannesburg, awareness of damage to Scotland's reputation, or indeed awareness of Scotland itself, will be even more limited. So while worries about Scotland's reputation are not misplaced, I think they can look larger in close up than they are in practice.
The City of London may be different, since it is far enough away to recognize Scotland as a separate financial centre but close enough to see an identifiably Scottish story unfolding. We are working with CIOBS and others to assess what impact, if any, recent events have had on Scotland's reputation. And we will take soundings when Lord Myners is here this week, and when we are in Geneva in a couple of weeks' time
