Chapter: 1
Scotland’s financial services growth trajectory

Scotland’s financial and related professional services sector is a vital part of the Scottish business landscape. Making up 10% of the Scottish economy in GVA – equating to £14.8bn annually – it is the largest sectoral contributor to Scotland’s economy.^[1]

From well-established roots in asset management and a fast-growing FinTech cluster, to a prominent centre for green and sustainable finance, Scotland’s financial services sector is buoyed by strong support from the Scottish and UK Governments – and has the potential to play an even more significant role in the future growth of Scotland’s economy. The financial centres of Edinburgh and Glasgow continue to rise on the global stage. The latest Global Financial Centres Index ^[2] places Edinburgh 29^th overall, while Glasgow is placed at 32^nd, up five places on last year and up from 42^nd the year before.

Scotland has been a centre for asset management for almost two centuries, home to globally recognised names such as Aberdeen Group and Baillie Gifford.

The Scottish investment management sector currently manages more than £700bn in assets, attracting investors from around the world.

More recently, Scotland has nurtured the growth of a vibrant FinTech Cluster, supported by a world-class network of research universities, creating the opportunity for transformational growth across a number of developing technologies – from AI and blockchain, to payments and more.^[3]

“Clusters” are defined as groups of firms, related economic factors and institutions that have reached a sufficient scale to develop specialised expertise, services, resources, suppliers and skills. This is also a vehicle that links industry commitment to economic growth through strategic action.

^[1]SFE membership surges as Scottish financial services sector thrives | Scottish Financial News
^[2] Public Reports - Long Finance
^[^3] Fintech Scotland

Today, Scotland is poised to assume a leadership role in the emerging green and sustainable finance sector. As a key pillar of the Scottish Government’s Green Industrial Strategy,^[4] sustainable finance in Scotland is set to be boosted by significant government support, including a raft of measures aimed at attracting and mobilising capital to be invested in green transition opportunities. The cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow have been climbing up the ranks of the Global Green Finance Index, which assesses financial centres based the depth and quality of their green finance industry. As of April 2025, Glasgow is now at 39^th place in the Index, while Edinburgh edged into the top 20 at 18^th place.

However, international competition is fierce, with markets like Singapore, Luxembourg and Switzerland accelerating their positions in the last decade and leading in the value that their financial sectors add to their economies.

^[4]Global Green Finance Index

Snapshot of fast-growing developed market financial services hubs

Sample-wide fastest growing developed market FS Hubs (adj for size of FS Industry, indexed)

Source: OCED, World Bank, Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) analysis

The results for cumulative growth and financial services GVA per capita were indexed (both indices were given equal weighting), to produce a final index score. This final score evidences the cumulative growth of the financial services sector in each market, adjusted for the relative size of the industry in each market.