The financial services case for an independent Scotland

One hundred prominent Scottish business leaders have openly backed the Scottish National Party to win in two days' time.

Sir George Mathewson, the former chairman of Royal Bank of Scotland, was one of the first to come out in favour of the SNP. Mathewson is dismissive of the suggestion that an independent Scotland would be bad news for the Scottish financial sector and jobs.

"Comments that have been made on access to the English market are patently absurd. Currently, a huge proportion of the English financial services market is supplied by companies in the US, in Holland, Germany, Ireland, etc. Globalisation is here and Scottish companies have embraced it and indeed have benefited from it," Mathewson says.

Ben Thomson, chairman of investment bank Nobel Group, goes even further, pointing out that an independent Scotland could help boost the competitiveness of Scotland's financial services groups, and help them to compete better against the likes of Ireland and Luxembourg.

"We are competing against countries which have a much lower rate of corporation tax and a better business environment, and that has been demonstrated by their growth," he says. "The average growth of smaller countries in Europe is 3.5%, the growth in the UK has been 2.5% and the growth in Scotland has been only 1.5%, despite our attractive oil revenues. So it is really about making Scotland the most competitive place."