Salmond bid to boost Scots banks

Top name banks needed a massive bailout from the government

Scotland has to prepare for the eventual upswing in financial services, according to the First Minister.

Alex Salmond will be delivering the message at a major industry event in Frankfurt during Euro Finance week.

He is leading a delegation which trying to repair the damage to Scotland's reputation since its two biggest banks came close to collapse.

He will meet the president of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet.

Mr Salmond will also meet the prime minister of Luxembourg, Jean-Claude Junker and the chairman and chief economist at Deutsche Bank.

The global financial services industry is in a period of change and pressure, and clearly we are not immune from these challenges Alex Salmond First Minister

Departing on Monday and returning on Wednesday, the first minister said his visit was "to strengthen economic links with Europe and reinforce Scotland's strong reputation for financial services".

He said: "Working closely with Scottish Development International the visit aims to maximise opportunities for inward investment and reinforce the message - to leading global financial figures - that Scotland offers significant competitive advantages for business.

"The global financial services industry is in a period of change and pressure, and clearly we are not immune from these challenges. However after the period of restructuring will come a period of investment and Scotland has to be placed to benefit from the upswing.

"Scotland is second only to London in the UK in financial services and has the talent, infrastructure and support services that continue to attract some of the biggest names in international finance - as recent announcements by Tesco Bank and Esure have testified."

Name change

Tesco Bank, recently changing its name from Tesco Personal Finance, has chosen Edinburgh as its headquarters and Glasgow as its main back office base. Esure, the insurance company, has also expanded in Glasgow.

Labour opponents have recently criticised Mr Salmond, saying he is not doing enough to safeguard bank jobs.

The Royal Bank of Scotland has its headquarters and Halifax Bank of Scotland has been taken over by Lloyds TSB, with its headquarters moving to London.

Together, the two Scottish banks have required more than £50 billion of bail-out capital since October last year, while Dunfermline Building Society - Scotland's biggest - also needed rescued and taken over by Nationwide.