Middle East private bank hiring continues selectively
Private banks and wealth managers are regrouping their hiring efforts to focus on the Middle East, according to headhunters, although appointments are only the best of breed.
Stephen Heal, director of recruiter HB International, said: “There is hiring but it is very selective.”
Lombard Odier, the Swiss independent private bank, hired Adour Yaghsezian from the National Bank of Kuwait. He is now vice-president in the Middle East Team of Lombard Odier’s Private Banking Unit, based in Geneva, covering Kuwait.
Bank of China, the nation’s second largest lender, last month hired Fatima Al Arabi as head of institutional clients, the Middle East and Mohamad Bleik as co-head of private banking, in the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Credit Suisse’s private bank in February hired a team of three from UBS for its Middle East team based in London. Ali Hammad joined as head of the team with Ashkan Anbari and Martine Woodward. Blake Shorthouse, also UBS alumni, was appointed head of ultra-high net worth clients in Europe, Middle East and Africa.
Chris Meares, chief executive of HSBC Private Bank, told Financial News last month that the Middle East, particularly Saudi Arabia, would be one of the bank’s most important regions. HSBC Private Bank intends to increase its headcount there this year, and recently hired Richard Anooshian as joint co-head of the London-based Saudia Arabia private banking business.
Local players are going on the front foot to win new business from the international banks. Last month the largest Gulf bank Emirates NBD, hired named Robbert Jan Voogt the general manager of its private banking division
The region is by no means immune to the recession and hiring has slowed down considerably, say headhunters. A director at a headhunting agency which specialises in wealth recruitment, said: “Bank are not able to offer much in the way of guarantees, so many of the big players are not willing to move.”
He added that Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, will be the next big hiring push, and he is in the process of placing a senior banker with Barclays Wealth in Riyadh. He said although there are only about 12 private bankers there at the moment, the region is opening up its doors to foreign wealth managers.
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