Call for a Parliamentary Inquiry into the Appointment of the SNIB Chair

That the Parliament notes that the new Scottish National Investment Bank (SNIB) will be responsible for investing significant sums of public money, estimated to be around £2 billion over 10 years, with the aim of “boosting Scotland's economic performance and realising the Scottish Government's ambitions for the economy by providing patient capital to finance growth”; is concerned at reports that the bank, despite being covered by the public sector equality duty, will not be covered by the Scottish Government's pay and pensions policy and that its senior executives will be able to access performance bonuses, which, it believes, could replicate some of the discredited practices that have been have witnessed in the investment banking sector; understands that Mr Willie Watt has been appointed to chair the bank and give strategic direction to its board; is concerned that Mr Watt was at the helm of a company, Martin Currie Ltd, which is an investment trust that, it believes, was previously registered in Edinburgh but changed its address to the tax haven of Bermuda; further believes that, in 2012, this company was fined a then record £8.6 million by regulators for a conflict of interest case; is alarmed that Mr Watt has been appointed without, it believes, any parliamentary or public scrutiny, and calls on the Economy, Energy and Fair Work Committee to hold an inquiry into this very important appointment.