Alex Salmond: banks' future is green

SCOTLAND'S beleaguered financial sector has a "significant" role to play in the development of major green energy projects, the First Minister said last night.

In a speech entitled "Choosing Scotland's Future", Alex Salmond claimed the country's banks could help create a "virtuous circle" of investment in large infrastructure projects required to produce renewable energy.

"Financial innovation has a significant role to play in the development of a low-carbon economy that creates business opportunities, provides thousands of green jobs and helps us achieve global climate change goals," he said.