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Special Interest Group

Public Affairs & Communications (PAC)

“Chair quote to be supplied — one or two sentences on why the group matters and why members should get involved.”

Chair: Steven Hill, Royal London

Objective

Provide insight to, and leverage expertise from, communications and public affairs professionals.

Strategic Focus

  • Providing political and comms insight and engagement opportunities.

  • Drawing on the expertise of comms/PA professionals on policy issues.

  • Promoting insight from specific member firms to the wider membership.

2026 Strategic Delivery

  • Policy formation around the 2026 Holyrood election and reactive party engagement on specific manifesto issues.

  • Member engagement around the 2026 Holyrood election.

  • Engagement with new MSPs and ministers post-election.

Activity

PAC meets quarterly for update sessions including guest speakers and updates on wider SFE engagement, complemented by a small core group used as a sounding board on policy and political issues, plus a broader community of members interested in public affairs and comms opportunities.

There is often value in bringing in relevant stakeholders beyond the membership, including other industry groups, think tanks, diplomatic representatives and business commentators.

Members

Cross-Group Collaboration

Banking Group
Join this group on the Member Platform
Skills & Inclusion Group
Young Professionals Network

Latest news

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Scottish Financial Services Awards shortlist announced
SFE Press Release
Scottish Financial Services Awards shortlist announced
SFE Press Release

The shortlist for the 2026 Scottish Financial Services Awards, sponsored by EY, has been announced, recognising the outstanding talent, innovation and impact being delivered across Scotland’s financial and professional services sector. The annual awards celebrate the contribution of both organisations and individuals from across the industry.

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SFE Press Release
FCA Roundtable on AI and the Future of Financial Services
Blogs
FCA Roundtable on AI and the Future of Financial Services
Blogs

A recent SFE and Capco roundtable with FCA Chief Executive Nikhil Rathi explored how artificial intelligence is beginning to reshape financial services. The discussion covered the rise of agentic AI, the evolving regulatory landscape, operational resilience, accountability, skills and the challenge of balancing innovation with strong governance and consumer trust.

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Blogs
Building the future of General Insurance in Scotland
Blogs
Building the future of General Insurance in Scotland
Blogs

SFE has launched a new General Insurance Sector Group, bringing together leaders from across Scotland’s insurance industry to explore the opportunities and challenges shaping the sector’s future. The group will focus on areas including AI and digital transformation, talent and skills, the changing risk landscape, climate resilience and financial wellbeing.

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Blogs

Upcoming events

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Simplify to Survive: The Challenge for Acquisition-Built Financial Services Firms
Sept 16
Simplify to Survive: The Challenge for Acquisition-Built Financial Services Firms

This invitation-only executive roundtable will bring together COOs and transformation leaders to explore how acquisition-led growth has created operational complexity across financial services.

Drawing on insights from Reinvigoration’s latest executive paper, the discussion will examine the impact of fragmented systems and processes, why transformation programmes often struggle to deliver lasting value, and how firms can simplify operations to strengthen resilience, support AI adoption and create the foundations for sustainable change.

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From Edinburgh to Everywhere: New approaches to distribution and investor diversification in UK asset management
Sept 17
From Edinburgh to Everywhere: New approaches to distribution and investor diversification in UK asset management

Explore the regulatory, commercial and market developments reshaping fund sales and distribution across the UK and Europe. The session will examine how asset managers can respond to changing investor expectations, regulatory reform and international competition, with a fireside chat featuring the FCA on key developments including Consumer Composite Investments, LTAFs, Consumer Duty and financial crime.

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The CDO Reality: Strengthening Data for AI Success and the Roadmap to Agentic AI
Sept 22
The CDO Reality: Strengthening Data for AI Success and the Roadmap to Agentic AI

IDC and Mastek invite senior data and technology leaders to an exclusive roundtable dinner exploring how financial services organisations can build AI-ready data foundations, strengthen governance and move from experimentation to measurable value. Hear expert insight from IDC’s Neil Ward-Dutton and discuss the practical transition from GenAI pilots to Agentic AI at scale.

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Beyond Vibe Coding: Governing the Next Era of AI engineering
Sept 29
Beyond Vibe Coding: Governing the Next Era of AI engineering

AI-assisted coding is rapidly moving beyond autocomplete and chat towards autonomous agents that can plan work, edit files, run commands and open pull requests.

This practical workshop explores the governance, security, cost, adoption and oversight risks of agentic development, with a live demonstration of how organisations can introduce AI coding tools in a controlled, auditable and responsible way.

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The Future of Financial Crime Webinar – AI, Data and the Next Generation of Controls
Oct 1
The Future of Financial Crime Webinar – AI, Data and the Next Generation of Controls

Explore how AI and data are reshaping financial crime prevention, from smarter detection and controls to the governance, transparency and data foundations needed to scale adoption responsibly.

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SFE Young Professionals Summit 2026
Oct 16
SFE Young Professionals Summit 2026

Join young professionals from across Scotland’s financial services industry for the inaugural SFE Young Professionals Summit, featuring sector insights, skills development, practical networking training and an evening panel and reception.

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Edinburgh Winter Reception
Nov 25
Edinburgh Winter Reception

Join SFE members and guests at the Edinburgh Winter Reception, hosted by Baillie Gifford, for an evening of refreshments, informal networking and the opportunity to connect with colleagues from across Scotland’s financial services community.

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Glasgow Winter Reception
Dec 3
Glasgow Winter Reception

Join SFE members and guests at the Glasgow Winter Reception, hosted at the Barclays Campus, for an evening of refreshments, informal networking and the opportunity to connect with colleagues from across Scotland’s financial services community.

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