IN better economic times, in years gone by, you might well have expected a degree of celebration to have greeted a major Scottish business regaining its independence after a long period of not always blissful overseas ownership.

After all, major corporate headquarters are crucial to Scotland’s economy, and to the external perception of the country.

It would seem fair to say that there has not been much of a celebratory mood around the flotation of Glasgow-based Clydesdale Bank.

Rather, long-time owner National Australia Bank has appeared at pains to emphasise just how glad it is to be getting out of the UK market through the demerger and flotation of Clydesdale and its sister Yorkshire Bank under the functional rather than glamorous corporate name of CYBG.

The flotation of CYBG was priced close to the bottom end of the previously indicated range, at 180p-a-share. The flotation price of CYBG, which has about 4,200 employees in Scotland, gave the business a stock market worth of about £1.6 billion. On a more positive note, at least the shares ended the first day’s trading on Wednesday at 192p. And they climbed yesterday to 198p.

The exit is clearly a big deal for NAB, which has owned Clydesdale for nearly three decades.

During much of this very lengthy period of ownership, it has seemed that Clydesdale has been up for sale to a greater or lesser degree, so maybe NAB can be forgiven for its apparent sense of relief over having at last exited the UK market-place. Its Australian investors, and banking analysts Down Under, have for many years now been making it clear to NAB that they wished it could get shot of its UK operations.

It has probably not been that happy an arrangement for Clydesdale either. During the boom days preceding the global financial crash, when Royal Bank of Scotland and Bank of Scotland were investing heavily for growth, it seemed that NAB was holding the purse strings of its UK operation very tightly indeed.

And, since the financial crash, Clydesdale has certainly not had its troubles to seek.

It has had to make huge provisions in its accounts for compensation of large numbers of customers relating to its selling of payment protection insurance (PPI) and some complex business loans. Last spring, NAB’s UK business was hauled over the coals by the Financial Conduct Authority for its handling of PPI complaints with Clydesdale Bank Plc, operator of the Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank brands, fined nearly £20.7 million.

Taking into account all that has been going on in the UK and Australia in the run-up to this week’s flotation, it is perhaps not surprising that Clydesdale Bank’s re-birth as an independent Glasgow institution did not prompt much, if any, celebration.

However, this clear lack of euphoria does not mean we should underestimate the importance of CYBG’s future fortunes to Glasgow and the wider Scottish economy.

The measured positive tone of David Duffy, the former chief executive of Allied Irish Banks who succeeded David Thorburn at the helm of Clydesdale last year, has provided a welcome contrast to the mood music around the Glasgow-based bank emanating from NAB’s home patch.

Last month, NAB chairman Ken Henry said: “Clydesdale Bank has been a significant factor in NAB shareholder returns not being at the level that we have wanted, nor competitive with our Australian peers.”

He also said the UK story had been quite distracting for both management and the Australian board.

Going back to 2011, NAB’s then executive director of finance Mark Joiner asked: “Why do we need to bias our capital to the UK when the economy is expected to be on its knees for 10 years or so?”

Mr Duffy said this week: “We have the ability to compete and do so successfully against the big banks, and I think that we will do that increasingly going forward.”

CYBG has set ambitious targets for growth in lending to homeowners and small and medium-sized enterprises, while aiming to remain strong in current accounts.

Having said that, Mr Duffy does not appear particularly bothered one way or the other about whether shareholder returns for CYBG are generated from this organic growth plan or from an ultimate takeover of the business.

CYBG’s board obviously has a duty to shareholders to consider any bids that might come along for the bank.

Mr Duffy said any bidder would have to offer to pay a healthy premium and achieve enhanced returns for shareholders to win a recommendation from CYBG’s board. This is pretty much what any chief executive would say.

However, perhaps surprisingly frankly on the issue of whether or not the Clydesdale operation remained independent in future, he added: “We’re agnostic. So long as shareholders get a return, we’re fine with that.”

These forthright comments may not be music to the ears of Clydesdale Bank staff who, like many of their peers in the sector, have gone through more than their fair share of turbulence and uncertainty in recent years amid very significant restructuring.

It will undoubtedly be a tough road ahead for the newly-independent Clydesdale and Yorkshire.

The UK economy is weak, with growth having been stuck significantly below the long-term average rate for several quarters now. The recovery, such as it is, looks dangerously unbalanced, with house prices having surged and personal debt high.

In terms of the banking market, Clydesdale and Yorkshire still appear to be at a bit of a disadvantage because they lack the extensive UK-wide footprint of their larger rivals.

That said, hopefully the new-found autonomy delivered through this week’s flotation might encourage investment in the operations, producing healthy growth for Clydesdale and Yorkshire.

A strong performance would be most likely to discourage any would-be suitors from a takeover, by keeping the price-tag higher. History tells us such acquisitions generally result in major cost-cutting and job losses.

There seems little doubt, from the perspective of Glasgow and the Scottish economy, as well as thousands of staff who have faced many challenging years, it would be best for Clydesdale to flourish as an independent player.