Sir Donald MacKay says Scotland has the 'skills, talent and the connections' needed to thrive

A prominent entrepreneur, economist, financier and government adviser has given his positive view on Scottish independence for the first time and has emphasised his views on the future of financial services in Scotland following a Yes vote.

Professor Sir Donald MacKay is co-signatory to a letter that appears in today’s Financial Times in which he, and other leading Scottish business figures, criticise the ’unbalanced’ views of the Westminster Scottish Affairs Committee, chaired by Labour MP Ian Davidson.

As an economic consultant, Sir Donald, who lives in Edinburgh, advised the Scotch Whisky Association for a period of 20 years from 1981. He was also an Economic Adviser to the Secretary of State for Scotland for more than 25 years. He is former Chairman of the Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and a Director of Edinburgh Income and Value Trust.

In addition to Sir Donald, the FT letter has been signed by:-

Jim Spowart, founder of Standard Life Bank and Intelligent Finance; Professor David Simpson, leading Scottish economist and former chief economic adviser to Standard Life; Angus Tulloch, Edinburgh fund manager; Michelle Thomson, Business for Scotland Managing Director and former Standard Life executive; Sir George Mathewson, former Chairman and Chief Executive of Royal Bank of Scotland plc, Chairman of Toscafund.

The letter says: ‘Today an unbalanced Westminster committee will once again hear from an unbalanced panel of witnesses on the position of Scottish business and financial services in the event of a yes vote.
 
‘Had we been invited we would have been able to offer the more positive view of the prospects for the financial sector under independence, and to provide some insight into issues which are not currently being considered.
 
‘First, there is a positive outlook for the sector because we believe the likelihood of a currency union is strong.  It is not only in the best interests of Scotland and the rest of the UK but of our industry.
 
‘Secondly, those seeking to evaluate risk in the financial sector must take account of the far more significant risk posed to financial services by the prospect of a UK referendum on membership of the EU.  Indeed a recent survey of CFOs placed the prospect of an EU exit and the impact of the next UK general election as far higher risks than anything that would develop as a result of Scottish independence.
 
‘Finally, the financial sector in Scotland will always prosper because we have the skills, the talent and the connections that are needed to thrive.  We will continue to flourish as an active and constructive participant in an increasingly globalised financial sector.
 
‘These are issues we could have set out to the committee had we been invited.’

Sir Donald was a founding Director of a number of companies, including a bank, financial services company and an oil operator. He has served as a Non-Executive Director with a number of private companies including Grampian Holdings and the Malcolm Group. He was Chairman of Scottish Enterprise and a Board member of a number of public companies including South of Scotland Electricity Board and the Sea Fish Industry Authority.