Edinburgh’s 2026 summer festival of finance unveiled in £1 million boost to economy
“It has never been more important for us to unite and build a fairer, greener financial system for everyone” – Dame Susan Rice
A festival looking at the future of finance will see more than 3,000 delegates descend on Scotland this summer and provide a £1 million boost to the economy.
Building on the success of last year’s inaugural event, the programme for the 2026 Edinburgh Finance Festival - running from June 8 to 20 - includes the 25th World Conference of Banking Institutes, in St Andrews, and the Ethical Finance Global Summit, now in its 11th year.
Talks and roundtables will focus on navigating an increasingly fractured world amid geopolitical turmoil, as well as sessions on green finance, sustainable growth and the energy transition.
The festival marks the 250th anniversary of Fife-born economist and philosopher Adam Smith’s seminal work The Wealth of Nations, with modern economists and leading financiers interrogating his arguments and reimagining his legacy. It will also examine new trends in the economy, climate, geopolitics and society, charting not only the future of finance, but the future in general, organisers said.
Hotels, restaurants and venues are set to benefit from June’s festival of finance, as the event underlines Edinburgh and Scotland’s growing role as a leading global financial centre, and an appropriate home for ethical and sustainable finance.
Organisers at the Global Ethical Finance Initiative (GEFI) estimate the event could generate in excess of £1m in value for the economy, as delegates stay, meet and spend in the capital and beyond.
Dame Susan Rice, chair of the global steering group at the GEFI and former managing director of Lloyds Banking Group Scotland, said: “Following the resounding success of our inaugural event last year, the 2026 Edinburgh Finance Festival returns to tackle the most critical challenges facing the global economy today.
“This year’s programme will once again bring together brilliant minds across finance, technology, and energy to drive meaningful action on climate change, social equality, and sustainable growth.
“Scotland has a long, proud history of financial innovation, and this event further strengthens our position as a global centre for responsible and ethical finance.
“By providing a collaborative platform for policymakers and industry leaders, we can share the practical solutions needed to ensure finance remains a powerful, driving force for good.”
She added: “As global economic and environmental pressures continue to mount, it has never been more important for us to unite and build a fairer, greener financial system for everyone.”
Delegates will attend the Ethical Finance Global Summit on June 18 at Edinburgh’s Sheraton Grand Hotel and Spa. The event is set to explore whether the mounting challenges facing the sector will force a retreat, trigger a recalibration, or revitalise the industry.
The programme will focus on how financial leaders can retain credibility, competitiveness, and purpose while navigating an increasingly uncertain world.
Dame Susan will be among the speakers at the summit, alongside the author and economist Professor Sir John Kay; Barry O’Dwyer, group chief executive of Royal London; and Khadija Ali, Lloyds Banking Group’s director of sustainability and responsible business.
A series of in-depth, invitation-only workshops will also take place on June 17, hosted at the Edinburgh Futures Institute.
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The World Conference of Banking Institutes, meanwhile, will bring together banking leaders, academics, and regulators to explore how technology, trust and professional standards will shape the next generation of banking. Hosted by the Chartered Banker Institute and running from June 16 to 18, it will examine the forces transforming the profession, from artificial intelligence (AI) and other technological advances to shifting expectations around ethics, responsibility and public confidence.
Tanya Retter, chief executive of the Chartered Banker Institute, said: “As the Chartered Banker Institute continues to champion professionalism and responsible banking worldwide, we welcome the Edinburgh Finance Festival as a valuable platform for dialogue and collaboration.
“This year’s event promises to broaden its reach and ambition, as well as its geography, as this spirit of the festival will come with us from our home in Edinburgh to St Andrews, where we will be hosting the 25th World Conference of Banking Institutes in partnership with the University of St Andrews Business School Executive Education.
“This will bring together international delegates from professional bodies, banks, regulators and academic institutions to discuss the future of banking professionalism in an era of digital transformation and artificial intelligence.”
Meanwhile, a financial historian is among the 40-odd individuals who have been elected as fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE).
The national academy said the newest cohort were being recognised for their “outstanding and continuing contributions” to areas such as public health, science, business and the arts. Fellows are elected to the RSE in recognition of excellence in their disciplines and an ongoing commitment to advancing knowledge for the benefit of society as a whole.
Russell Napier is an internationally renowned expert on finance, author, adviser, and runs a course on financial history at Heriot-Watt University.
He said: “As an adopted Scot I am particularly delighted by my election as a fellow of Scotland’s national academy. I have had a long commitment to widening participation in education and also to widening the perspectives of business regarding the many factors, well beyond those traditionally taught in business schools, that impact investment.
“I look forward to working with the RSE in both areas. The need for the interdisciplinary approach in understanding our world, that the RSE promotes, is now particularly important given the huge structural changes that we are all living through. I look forward, as a fellow, to furthering the interdisciplinary work of the RSE at this particularly important time in our history.”
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