Edinburgh’s position was, at 29th in the latest rankings, unchanged from September 2024 when it climbed to its current position from 33rd. However, while its league placing was unchanged in the latest index, the Scottish capital’s overall score improved.
Industry body Scottish Financial Enterprise (SFE), which described the Z/Yen survey as “the leading measure of international financial centres”, said: “Edinburgh’s improved score and Glasgow’s impressive five-place jump underscores the continued growth of Scotland’s world-class financial services sector.”
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SFE added: “The results highlight the strength of the financial services sector in Scotland, with the expansion of global firms establishing significant regional hubs in Scotland including Barclays, Blackrock and JP Morgan. This, combined with Glasgow and Edinburgh’s proximity to London, a growing expertise in fintech and AI (artificial intelligence), and a strong pool of talent, provides a valuable asset in the development of the sector.”
Sandy Begbie, chief executive of SFE, said: “To have Scotland’s two largest cities continue to improve their rankings among the leading financial centres highlights the value of [the] financial services sector to the Scottish economy. Our outstanding pool of talent, well-established ecosystem and world-leading universities, combined with our relationship with London, provide a distinctive proposition for businesses looking to establish themselves in the UK market.
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“As our sector growth strategy outlined, our goal is to see Edinburgh and Glasgow break into the top 20 and 30, respectively, and we are actively pursuing strategies to achieve this ambition. We now need to capitalise on the achievements of our sector to secure Scotland’s position as a global leader in financial services.”
Koral Anderson, site lead for banking group Barclays in Scotland, said: “At Barclays, we recognise the strength of the financial services sector in Scotland and we are proud to be part of its continued growth, which is reflected in these results. With 6,000 jobs at our Glasgow campus, our investment in Scotland as a financial hub is clear and to see Scotland jump up the GFCI (Global Financial Centres Index) rankings highlights that our strategy is the correct one.”
SFE said the ratings of Edinburgh and Glasgow in the latest Z/Yen Global Financial Centres Index “are evidence that the sector growth strategy launched at the end of 2023 is delivering results”.
The growth strategy was launched in late 2023 with the aim of boosting the annual gross value added (GVA) of financial and related professional services in Scotland from £14.3 billion to between £17bn and £21bn in five years.
It was developed by SFE in collaboration with City of London Corporation, TheCityUK, FinTech Scotland and the Global Ethical Finance Initiative, and supported by the Scottish and UK governments.
