Work to establish a Scottish National Investment Bank has started with the launch by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon of a public consultation on the details of the bank’s operation.

The establishment of a national investment bank was a key measure announced in the Programme for Government in September.

Benny Higgins, CEO of Tesco Bank and former top executive at Standard Life, RBS and HBoS, was appointed to lead the work to develop an implementation plan, and he has put together a small advisory group to support him in the development of this plan.

Views are now being sought from the public on the detail of “how best the bank can meet its objective of supporting the Scottish economy and working for the benefit of the people of Scotland.”

Sturgeon said: “The Council of Economic Advisers identified a national investment bank as an important means of delivering infrastructure development, finance for high growth businesses and strategic investments in innovation.

“Our Programme for Government committed to the establishment of such a bank and I am delighted that Benny Higgins is leading the implementation work.

“Today, we are launching a consultation on the details of how best the bank can achieve those aims and support Scotland’s economy.

“However, we recognise that inclusive growth is another essential part of our focus on innovation and productivity.

“So we’ve also announced a range of measures to ensure that as we transform our economy, we leave no one in our society behind.”