Fife has been highlighted as a major hub for financial and related professional services in a UK-wide report which shows the sector in Scotland is growing faster than London’s global cluster.
Industry body TheCityUK’s latest publication shows up to 161,000 jobwere supported by the sector north of the border last year.
The figure was 6.6% higher than the prior year, meaning the Scottish sector expanded at a faster rate than London where job numbers rose by 5%.
In total, 2.3 million UK jobs are supported by financial services, with the British capital remaining the largest single centre.
In terms of economic contribution, Scottish financial services were worth around £12 billion to the economy last year – the equivalent of 8.9% of GDP – while the UK industry as a whole was worth around £174bn.
The report highlighted four Scottish clusters in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Fife.
Edinburgh is the largest Scottish hub, contributing £4.7bn to the economy and supporting 52,00 jobs in financial or related services.
Fife was the smallest of the four clusters, but the sector still accounted for 7,160 jobs in the Kingdom.
It was worth £460 million last year, around 5.8% of the region’s total annual economic output.
Banking was the largest single discipline in Fife, accounting for 3,000 of the jobs total.
“One in every 14 British jobs are in financial and related professional services,” Miles Celic, chief executive officer, TheCityUK, said.
“The ongoing strength of our financial centres across the country underlines what a national success story this industry is.
“Building on this success will need a supportive business environment and greater emphasis on local expertise and local decision making.
“A one-size-fits-all approach simply won’t be good enough.”
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon welcomed the report reinforced the country’s position as the leading financial services hub outside London.
“Scotland offers a combination of a well-established financial services sector and ongoing innovation, with many global companies already based here.” Ms Sturgeon said.
“The Scottish Government is committed to helping equip the industry for the future by leveraging Scotland’s expertise in financial technology so we can play a leading role in the continued growth and transformation of the sector.”