Scots finance sector not rated abroad

SCOTLAND's most successful international financial player, Royal Bank of Scotland, has rubbished a report claiming that the perception of the country's financial sector as a globally rated centre of excellence falls short of reality.

The report, published by Scottish Financial Enterprise and conducted by George Street Research, found that business decision- makers and opinion-formers in the top 12 financial centres in the world think Scotland has a low profile and is poorly promoted.

When compared to New York, London, Tokyo, Paris, and Boston, Scotland received the lowest marks in terms of support infrastructure, a large, skilled workforce and reputation for innovation.

The report drew expressions of incredulity from some in the financial community, with one senior player saying: "It's not treating like for like, because all the places mentioned except for Scotland have stock exchanges or bourses.

"Internationally Scotland more than holds its own in terms of financial acumen, and I would seriously query the validity of the questions asked by this report."

A spokesperson for the Royal Bank, which now appears in the Dow Jones Global Titans 50 index, added: "The reality of the situation is that this bank, as the second-largest banking group in Europe and fifth-largest in the world, continues to operate and grow its business successfully from a Scottish base".

The report placed Scotland in 25th position globally and 23rd for fund management.

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