Financial services: partnership agreement between Scottish Government and City of London Corporation

Appendix 1

Mechanisms

Securing Investment: The City of London Corporation and Scottish Government will jointly work to promote Scotland as an attractive investment destination to international and London-based investors, including within CoLC UK-wide campaigns and Scottish led initiatives. Activities in 2026 will include:

• The First Minister to host a cross-sector discussion, supported by the City UK, with key investors, to signpost investments in Scotland, which London-based investors could take advantage of.

• SG will continue to engage with the City of London, in developing and delivering its programme to attract private capital at scale into investment projects which will help deliver on SG priorities.
• SG and CoLC to work closely together to ensure developing support at UK level, including the Office for Investment’s Financial Services (OFI: FS) Hub, and CoLC’s work to connect capital with investable projects opportunities in Scotland, to maximise their impact for both Scotland and the City’s mutual benefit.
• SG and CoLC to work together to amplify the impact of the Invest Scotland workstream, including the online portal and pipeline, to ensure that London-based and international investors have clear sight of investment opportunities within Scotland.
• CoLC to continue to maintain dialogue with the Scottish National Investment Bank (SNIB) on key priorities such as projects, targets, and opportunities that align with work to mobilise global investment into the UK.
• CoLC to invite representatives from Scottish energy and infrastructure projects to the Business and Trade Dinner organised with the UK Government.
• CoLC and SG to work together to ensure adequate international representation for one another’s opportunities, including but not limited to;
  • SDI/CoLC supporting firms participating in trade delegations where appropriate, and the delegation selection criteria is met; (with Scottish firms required to meet their own travel expenses)
  • Supporting the Lady Mayor’s ambassadorial programme to promote Scottish activity and opportunities;
  • Leveraging existing stakeholder engagement  with UKG/SG contacts,  international  networks and key events to build investor appetite.

Building Ladders of Opportunity: The City of London Corporation and Scottish Government will work to reduce barriers to those less well-represented in financial services, build ladders of opportunity to amplify efforts within firms and beyond to support opportunities for these groups, and support financial inclusion where possible, in line with joint CoLC/SG objectives. 2026 Activities will include:

• Organising events which bring together leaders of the future with senior figures, including the Lady Mayor, Policy Chairman of the City of London Corporation, and the First Minister;
• Developing informal guidance to amplify efforts already undertaken by firms, government support, and other organisations to support staff from diverse backgrounds into the sector;
• Where possible, to undertake efforts to support financial inclusion through campaigns, messaging, and the development of products and policy, in line with wider City of London Corporation and Scottish Government objectives;
• To facilitate connections which can maximise the impact of peer mentoring, and support access to career support and professional development to help those who may face additional barriers progressing in financial services.

Green and Sustainable Finance: Anchor the UK as a leader in sustainable finance by promoting Scotland's unique strengths. Scottish Government and the City of London Corporation will collaborate with key partners to consider activity which will progress the recommendations from the Scottish Taskforce for Green and Sustainable Financial Services published in 2024. In 2026, this will include:

• Supporting the delivery of key events such as London Climate Action Week, Global Ethical Finance events and the path to COP31 in Antalya;
  Ensuring that outstanding Green Taskforce actions are completed or closed and reported back on, including supporting the delivery of activities to facilitate investment flows into Scottish sustainability projects, and continuing to harness opportunities to locate investment activity within Scotland;
• CoLC / SG to jointly work to support incoming Scottish Government to develop a roadmap to taking forward further engagement and delivery in green finance; including exploring options for the proposed public-private body;
• CoLC will ensure the continuous involvement of SG representatives in its green and sustainable skills-related initiatives through regular meetings/updates, joint working groups and shared training and workshops.

Seizing Opportunities in Fintech, Data and Al: Drive fintech growth in Scotland by attracting investment and funding opportunities to foster innovation in areas like data and Al, while ensuring that the ecosystem supports Scottish fintech and adherence to regulatory standards. Planned activities in 2026 will include:

• CoLC will continue its role as observer on the board of the FinTech Scotland's Financial Regulatory Innovation Lab (FRIL). This programme leverages new technologies to shape and evolve the future regulatory landscape. It aims to create new employment, business opportunities, and enable future talent.
• CoLC and SG to work closely together to develop support for scale-ups, helping Scotland’s 250+ FinTechs access support, mentoring, and advice for taking the next step and growing from a strong investable proposition to a strong company.
• SG will continue to deliver growth in the sector Scotland through its Innovation Strategy and Green Industrial Strategy, aligned with FinTech Scotland's Research and Innovation Roadmap to foster collaboration, drive innovation and support growth, and to develop proposals, with an incoming administration’s support, to ensure that this support remains in place and ambitious targets to grow the sector remain in place.
• CoLC and SG will continue to work together to leverage connections with both financial institutions and technical expertise to set out the best case possible for AI, Data and FinTech opportunities, with international and stakeholder networks deployed to amplify this work and enable capitalisation on opportunities.