From banking to The Love Academy, and other tales of people leaving the industry
A former HBOS banker turned political protester (who took an active role in the weekend's demonstrations in London) is an extreme example of a wider trend in Scotland - bankers being laid off, never to return to the industry.
Charlie Veitch, who attended Edinburgh University, set up activist group The Love Academy after being made redundant from HBOS in 2009, where he claims to have worked as a financial adviser in its wealth management division.
It's safe to say, based on his slightly wayward blog, that he doesn't look back on his time in the financial sector with particular fondness:
"Upon graduation, I promised myself I would never wear a suit, nor would I work in an office. Fate threw me suited up into an office for seven years, and seven years exactly. This was my tour of duty in the illusory world of hierarchical control, greed, fear and systemic hypnosis.
While most bankers are unlikely to take on a life of political activism, many in Scotland became disillusioned with the industry after the fall out from the financial crisis.
Graeme Powrie, a former HBOS corporate banker who volunteered for redundancy in 2008, now works for Pilotlight - an organisation that helps set up links between charities and local business people - and says that many ex-colleagues have also left banking.
"Several have just retired, others have stayed in the financial sector to work in credit unions, brokerages or consultancies, while one person now mentors young people to help them find employment," he says. "Scotland lost a lot of bankers in the fall out from HBOS and RBS."
In corporate banking, where the recovery was distinctly slower in Scotland, this exodus has been particularly pronounced. One senior corporate banker told us previously that a number of his colleagues had "turned their back on corporate banking entirely".
He maintains the stance that those who remained in their jobs are feeling increasingly marginalised.
"With all the integration and change going on, I don't know anyone that's happy," he says.
