Scotland's Economy

Scottish National Investment Bank

May 9, 2018 by Keith Brown MSP No Comments | Category Uncategorized

I want to thank Benny Higgins and his Advisory Group for their work on developing an Implementation Plan for a new national investment bank for Scotland.

The Cabinet has considered in detail the proposals outlined in Mr Higgins’ Implementation Plan, and has agreed that the Scottish Government will accept all 21 of the recommendations.

That is why we are committed to investing £2 billion over 10 years to capitalise the Bank. This scale is deemed to be ambitious, achievable and realistic, at a level that will make a material difference to the supply of capital to the Scottish economy and can lever in additional private investment.

We will further refine its expectations of the Bank, and the missions set for it, through consultation with stakeholders. We will listen to their expectations and priorities for investment and governance of the Bank.

Many countries around the world benefit from having national investment banks which provide patient, strategic investments that focus on the major economic challenges. National promotional banks play an important role in actively creating and shaping new markets and tackle big societal challenges.

The Bank will operate on a commercial basis, with an strong ethical focus, and will be independent from Ministers who will set strategic missions for the Bank. The Bank’s board will be responsible and accountable over decisions about where to invest and on what terms so that it fulfils the missions set for it. The Scottish Government is committed to establishing the new Bank as a public body in order to ensure direct alignment between the activities of the Bank and broader economic policy. The types of investment, determined by the Board should include:

• strategic and patient capital over all stages of firms’ and businesses investment lifecycle
• substantial financing for major projects which support regeneration and communities and
• investment in new ideas, to help meet key economic, environmental and social challenges.

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