HSBC’s Scottish chief executive has praised levels of activity in the Tayside economy after revealing the bank lent more than £35 million in operating capital to firms in a matter of months after setting up in the region.
The bank established its first branch in Dundee in early spring as part of a wider £10m roll-out north of the border, and its first full quarter has exceeded all expectations.
Scottish CEO John Rendall said the branch, officially opened by HSBC Bank chief executive Brian Robertson this week, was operating around 5% ahead of target in terms of its forecaste take-up from both private and business customers.
He said the bank had been impressed by the broad-based local economy and the ambition it had seen among firms determined to grow in spite of the wider economic situation.
He said: ”We have been very encouraged not just by the volume of opportunities we are seeing but also by the quality of customers we are seeing, and after 12 weeks we are about 5% ahead of what were fairly ambitious projections.
”We have opened 36 new business accounts for small businesses in the 12 weeks we have been open, which we are really pleased about, as switching banks isn’t something businesses do at the drop of a hat.
”Our wider commercial centre team have been on the ground for longer and in just short of a year we have added 15 new medium-sized business customers and that has involved us in well over £35m of lending in that period.
”The businesses cover a really healthy range of sectors with some food and drink, some manufacturing and engineering and some professional services firms.”
Mr Rendall said he had visited Dundee on numerous occasions in recent months and had been struck by the city’s drive to improve its fortunes.
He said the decision by Malmaison to create its latest outlet within the old Tay Hotel was a major milestone for Dundee and he also pointed to recent multi-million-pound investments in the life sciences arena, the landmark £45m V&A project, and the announcement of the intention to redevelop the railway station as signs of a go-ahead city.
Mr Rendall said: ”We are very clear in our view that there is a significant opportunity here for us. The feedback from the team we have on the ground in Dundee has consistently been that they have been very positively struck by the number of interesting businesses they are getting the chance to speak to. That relates both to Dundee itself and the surrounding area.
”We identified Dundee as a priority location in our plan for expansion in Scotland for two reasons Dundee was the largest city in Scotland where we didn’t have a presence and there was a lot of scale and importance going on in Dundee as a marketplace. There is a sense of momentum and a clear direction in the business community in the area.”
Mr Robertson said HSBC looked forward to a long and prosperous relationship with the region.
He said: ”The opening of our new branch here in Dundee marks yet another important milestone for HSBC in Scotland. We have invested around £10m over the past year in developing our branch network as we continue to grow our franchise north of the border.”