At a meeting with SCDI members in Inverness in June, Iain Smith MSP, the convener of the economy, energy and tourism committee, set out the remit of its inquiry into the consequences for the Scottish economy. Since then SCDI has been gathering evidence from members in the Highlands and Islands, elsewhere in Scotland and internationally.

While the banking industry in the Highlands and Islands is clearly much smaller than in Edinburgh or Glasgow, these issues are vital to our economy. Firstly and most obviously, more restrictions on credit have reduced the lifeblood to businesses. Secondly, as a recent report for Highlands and Islands Enterprise showed, the wider financial and business services sector is important to the regional economy. Thirdly, concerns have been expressed about the reputation damage to all Scottish businesses in the global market.

Credit has ubecome more expensive and less readily available in every sector of the economy in the last year. However, there is evidence from SCDI members that debt finance is becoming more freely available to most sectors. Moreover, industries with long-term growth prospects, like aquaculture, are attracting higher interest than before.

Financial and banking services have themselves been a strong success story in our economy, with a 17.1 per cent increase in employment between 2004 and 2007, almost three times the Scottish average. Contact centres are a niche which has been developed and the closure of the HBOS contact centre in Inverness last year demonstrated the risks from consolidation. This highlights the importance of the health of the Scottish banking sector.

In our response, SCDI has suggested that there are already indications that it is bouncing back swiftly and robustly, with high skills levels, customer services and a relatively low-cost base in its favour. In the Highlands, the establishment of powerful green data centres also has the potential to attract financial and business services functions to this area.

What we need to do to attract business and investment is continue to promote our quality of life and infrastructure connectivity, especially ICT, air links and routes to Edinburgh. SCDI will be questioning transport minister Stewart Stevenson MSP on these tonight.

The Scottish media has raised concerns of wider reputation damage to all our businesses.

However, this does not seem to be borne out by the international feedback to SCDI. Yes the reputation of the global financial services industry has undoubtedly taken a battering.

But, our contacts say that the Scottish "brand" has not been affected any more than the brands elsewhere in the UK and other countries with material banking industries.

So there are good reasons to be cautiously optimistic, but the position is fluid. SCDI members will be able to comment further shortly when, in partnership with Ledingham Chalmers, we hold a meeting with Bank of England deputy governor Charles Bean.

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