Financial Recruitment Agencies would have been pleased to hear that Barclays is about to create 600 jobs in Scotland, by expanding its operations in Glasgow.

It hopes to create a centre of excellence which has been funded in part by public cash the Scottish Enterprise has given a grant of £6.6 million. However this has been provided with certain conditions, which could see the number employed rise to as much as 2,000.

The news will be good for the financial sector which has dipped again slightly with Royal Bank of Scotland announcing it was reducing its staff by 3,500 and Standard Life is cutting back by 600 jobs with 480 of those in Scotland.

The aim of the centre is to eventually be a global shared services hub to support its investment banking and wealth management divisions.