The survival of the Scottish financial sector

The changes that have swept through the financial sector in recent years are well known. Big Bang and the removal of minimum commissions in the City together with the Financial Services and Building Society Acts have greatly changed the character and nature of many of our financial institutions and markets. The causes of these changes; the increased globalisation of world financial markets, the dramatic improvement in technology and communications and a greatly changed regulatory framework have been discussed extensively but relatively little attention has been given to their impact on regions outside London. This article examines the state of the financial sector in Scotland subsequent to these changes and questions whether, far from being helped by the technological revolution, Scotland is in danger of losing its importance as a financial sector.