The annual Scottish Financial Services Awards, sponsored by EY, are the flagship industry-wide celebration to recognise the contribution that both firms and their people have made to the Scottish financial services sector and to wider society.

The Scottish Financial Services Awards, sponsored by EY are back for 2025

This year’s event takes place in Edinburgh, at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre on the 23rd of October 2025.

Tables and tickets are selling fast so if you haven’t already booked your table or ticket, get in touch with our Events Manager, Nicole Scott below.

Information on our Charity Partner and nominations will be released in due course.

 2025 award categories

  • This award is open to any Scottish based project team, individual or collaboration working in financial services, or organisations providing services to the industry. The impact of the nomination should have had a positive impact on the sector here in Scotland and, where appropriate, a wider impact.

    Nominees have been judged on their ability to demonstrate any, or all, of the following:

    • Delivering business growth, modernisation or job creation that has had a positive impact on Scotland’s economy

    • Investment in businesses, projects, or communities which has created demonstrable growth, financial resilience or financial wellbeing

    • Collaborating across financial services, with government, and with public sector to enable innovative financing models, economic transition and/ or sustainable economic growth across economic cycles

    • Policy advice or economic expertise that has helped policy makers to make good decisions that support an effective economic recovery

  • This award is open to any Scottish based project team, individual or collaboration working in financial services, or organisations providing services to the industry. The impact of the nomination should have had a positive impact on the sector here in Scotland and, where appropriate, a wider impact.

    Nominees have been judged on their ability to demonstrate any, or all, of the following:

    • Role modelling behaviours that ensure financial services is leading by example and reflecting on its own impact

    • Inspiring leadership, innovation and expansion in green finance and ESG expertise

    • Supporting the Scottish economy to transition to net zero

    • Facilitating work with other sectors to enable decarbonisation and transition

    • Leading the way in transparent disclosure and commitments on industry standards

  • This award is open to any Scottish based project team, individual or collaboration working in financial services, or organisations providing services to the industry. The impact of the nomination should have had a positive impact on the sector here in Scotland and, where appropriate, a wider impact.

    Nominees have been judged on their ability to demonstrate any, or all, of the following:

    • A continued focus on supporting vulnerable customers, especially through the use of technology or innovation to ensure greater inclusion and fairness

    • Supporting digital literacy, customer experience transformation and access to financial services

    • Enabling innovation through collecting and sharing data, analysis or technology on customer insights, demographics and demands

  • This award is open to any Scottish based project team, individual or collaboration working in financial services, or organisations providing services to the industry. The impact of the nomination should have had a positive impact on the sector here in Scotland and, where appropriate, a wider impact.

    Nominees have been judged on their ability to demonstrate any, or all, of the following:

    • Effective upskilling/reskilling of their current talent base with fresh skills to keep up changing demands through their careers

    • Improving diversity and inclusion, through educating and supporting young people or excluded workforce demographics to access opportunities of working in financial services and broadening pathways into the sector

    • Supporting innovation in working models to enable flexible and hybrid working to attract new roles, appeal to a wider and more inclusive skills base, and/or support health and wellbeing

    • Taking a leading role in driving inflows of people and skills in Scotland’s financial services industry through

  • This award is open to any Scottish based project team, individual or collaboration working in financial services, or organisations providing services to the industry. The impact of the nomination should have had a positive impact on the sector here in Scotland and, where appropriate, a wider impact.

    Nominees have been judged on their ability to demonstrate any, or all, of the following:

    • Supporting financial innovation through outstanding use of data, AI and emerging technologies

    • Use of data, AI and emerging technologies to drive digital transformation or operational resilience

    • Cutting-edge research, development or thought leadership on data science and artificial intelligence

    • Use of financial data as a force for social good

  • The winner of this award should be somebody in the early stages of their career path in financial or professional services, who’s already having an impact.

    Nominations will be judged on:

    • Evidence of outstanding potential and development in the early stages of their career

    • Impact that goes beyond their own personal career to promote the industry and its role in wider society. 

    • Evidence of context and having overcome barriers may be considered

  • The Chair’s Award will be presented where the judging panel feels a nominee is deserving across all categories and best demonstrates sectors our positive impact on society. All nominations put forward for the other award categories will automatically be considered.

    In addition to choosing from nominations put forward for other award categories, firms are also welcome to nominate a programme, organisation or individual as a contender within the Chair’s Award category instead - if they feel the achievements span a number of other award categories, don’t quite fit within the existing categories, or they believe it transcends the definitions/restrictions outlined in the other categories above.

Submit your nominations for the 2025 Scottish Financial Services Awards below

Individual nominations

Organisation/company nominations

 2024 Scottish Financial Services Awards Winners

Fatima Ceesay Lopez

Rising Star
Award Winner

Fatima Ceesay Lopez was the winner of the SFSA 2024 Rising Star Award.

Fatima took home the Rising Star Award after completing an apprenticeship in 2023, and established herself as an innovative software developer, all whilst achieving a first-class degree and actively contributing to diverse internal and external community engagement projects.

HSBC

Changing Customer Needs
Award Winner

HSBC were the winner of the SFSA 2024 Changing Customer Needs Award.

For its No Fixed Address initiative helping connect homeless people with the banking system, HSBC were the worthy winners of this year’s Changing Customer Needs Award.

Royal Bank of Scotland

Leading the Journey to Net-Zero
Award Winner

Royal Bank of Scotland were the winner of the SFSA 2024 Leading the Journey to Net-Zero Award.

Royal Bank of Scotland won the Net Zero Award for the second time in three years. They have committed around £6.7 billion to finance the farming sector’s transition, partnering with some of its largest companies to help drive the transition through collaboration.

JP Morgan

Skills & Inclusion
Award Winner

JP Morgan were the winner of the SFSA 2024 Skills & Inclusion Award.

The winner of the Skills & Inclusion Award was JP Morgan, for their work delivering education and skill-building opportunities, enhancing their internal and external community members and improving digital literacy.

Citi

Innovation
Award Winner

Citi were the winner of the SFSA 2024 Innovation Award.

Citi were the winners of our first ever Innovation Award, taking the prize in recognition of its new UK Digital Transfer Agency platform, supporting investors end-to-end lifecycles from its operational centre in Edinburgh.

Castle Community Bank

Judge’s Award Winner

Castle Community Bank were the winner of the SFSA 2024 Judge’s Award.

Commended by our judges for shaking up the credit union business model and creating social impact by supporting those unable to access mainstream banking, Castle Community Bank deservedly took home this year’s Judge’s Award.

Barclays

Business Growth
Award Winner

Barclays were the winner of the SFSA 2024 Business Growth Award.

Barclays’ rapid expansion and investment in Glasgow helped it secure the Business Growth Award. The company has grown its footprint in Glasgow to around 5,600 people.

Mark Napier

Chair’s Award Winner

Mark Napier was the winner of the SFSA 2024 Chair’s Award.

Mark took home this year’s Chair’s Award for his role in driving the delivery of JP Morgan’s new technology Centre in Glasgow.