BANKING giant HSBC is creating 500 new jobs in Scotland as it expands several functions of its operations north of the border.
It is creating roles in its global risk business, which was established in Edinburgh in 2015, and its centre of excellence for customer contact in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire.
The recruitment drive also boosts employee numbers in other areas of the business, bringing HSBC’s headcount in Scotland to 4500.
It is the company’s third expansion programme in Scotland in the past three years.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon welcomed the news as she visited HSBC’s centre for global risk operations in Edinburgh yesterday.
She said: “HSBC’s expansion with the creation of 500 new jobs across Scotland is fantastic news for the economy.
“This is testament to our skills and expertise, and builds on HSBC’s significant business presence here.
“Scotland is open for business and this announcement further demonstrates our position as a prime location for investment and growth.”
All four of HSBC’s global businesses are represented in Scotland, including retail banking and wealth management, commercial banking, global banking and markets with HSBC Securities and global private banking, as well as a range of service businesses.
Alison McGregor, chief executive of HSBC in Scotland, said: “This expansion programme spans different locations, skills and disciplines, supporting lots of communities in different ways.
“We are absolutely committed to helping businesses and individuals to achieve their ambitions.
“The successful establishment of our global risk function demonstrates that Scotland has the talent we need and HSBC is a place that talented people want to work.
“This is our third year of significant expansion in Scotland.
“The new roles announced today and the increase in the size of our SME fund further illustrates the various ways in which HSBC is contributing to the growth of the Scottish economy.”
The announcement comes days after HSBC increased the size of its SME Fund in Scotland to £500 million in an effort to meet rising demand for investment capital from Scottish businesses.
The fund is the largest package of support to be announced by HSBC for SMEs in Scotland and is a significant increase on the £450m fund allocated in 2016. It is part of a wider £10 billion fund for SMEs across the UK.
Andrew Little, HSBC’s regional director for Scotland, said: “The launch of this fund reaffirms our commitment to support the growth of Scottish SMEs of all sizes, from start-ups to established businesses.
“We have so many ambitious businesses in our region who are keen to grow locally, nationally and internationally. This fund is all about helping those businesses make investments that will enable them to achieve their goals while stimulating our local economy and creating jobs.”
The major jobs boost also follows an announcement last week by HSBC’s UK chief executive Ian Stuart, who said that the group could keep more jobs in Britain depending on whether the government pursues a hard or soft Brexit.
HSBC, with 43,000 employees in the UK, revealed in January that it was planning to move “activities covered specifically by European financial regulation” to the EU.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here