Quilter jobs catalyst?

Citigroup's purchase of Quilter from Morgan Stanley could be a recipe for job creation in Glasgow.

Citigroup purchased Quilter, a UK private bank, in early December for 230m. Similar acquisitions have been known to trigger job cuts - but not this one (or so it seems).

A spokeswoman for Citigroup tells us: "Our initial focus will be on a smooth integration of Quilter into our global wealth management platform. We expect to build the business by adding advisors, adding clients and by providing those clients with greater access to the full complement of wealth management services - such as banking, lending, alternative investments and capital markets."

Glasgow is likely to be the beneficiary of any expansion - it's already the processing centre for Quilter's fund management transactions.

Quilter manages 5.6 billion in the UK and Citigroup is intent on boosting that.

It's all part of Citigroup's strategy to grow private banking in the UK as a whole. The bank's spokeswoman says the UK market represents one of the 'biggest opportunities in terms of wealth creation over the next decade.' "Households with investible assets of 250,000 are an ideal market, and the number of UK households with more than 1.5 million of aggregate wealth is expected to increase by 276% over the next 10 years," she tells us.

A leading Glasgow-based recruiter believes Citigroup's commitment is further proof of the city's growing status as a financial services centre. She said: "I suppose there is always a concern with takeovers that jobs will be lost so it is good to hear that the bank is committed to Glasgow. The city has done a lot to make itself attractive and is now being rewarded for that effort."