Reasons why Scottish bankers should feel aggrieved

Scottish bankers have a right to feel a little peeved. Aside from ever-present threat of redundancy within the country's largest institutions, high-flyers in London are once again being offered lavish pay packets as firms grapple for their services - something decidedly amiss north of the border.

Simon Thompson, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, believes morale is low among Scottish bank workers, a situation which isn't helped by the fact top investment bankers in London look set to enjoy bumper bonuses again this year.

"There has been real anger at the position they have found themselves in. There has been a hit to morale. Some of the people who have been in their jobs 20 years and more have seen their pride hurt," he said.

But he praised the "professionalism" of Scottish bank workers in the face of difficult conditions and believes the industry won't suffer long-term damage because of the problems at RBS and HBOS.

These problems don't seem so evident south of the border. RBS is offering guaranteed bonuses and bigger base salaries to secure top investment banking talent in the City, while Lloyds Banking Group has just hired ex-Goldman Sachs veteran James Garvey on a 1m a year package to run its capital markets division.

As Deutsche Bank chief executive Josef Ackerman said: "The war for talent is in full swing."

Sadly, this has yet to reach Scotland. One headhunter who focuses on placing senior bankers north of the border says: "It's more the opposite - currently those in senior positions are having to prove why they should be kept on."