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Posts by Paul Clarke
Are regional Middle East investment banks starting to go global?
It’s no secret that investment banks in the Middle East are having a hard time currently. Headcount has been pared back in the international players as deal activity has dried up, but redundancies have been most prolific within the regional behemoths. A few examples of regional investment banking players that have been forced to roll [...]
Crisis hit Gulf Finance House is eyeing growth opportunities again
Before the financial crisis took hold in 2008, Bahrain-based Islamic investment bank Gulf Finance House was expanding rapidly. At its peak, the firm employed more than 300 people. Now, it has a headcount of just 55. As investment banking activity plummeted, along with the property prices in the region, Gulf Finance House was hit particularly [...]
The $220k retail banking roles for Emiratis in the UAE
Any retail banking branch manager positions in the UAE have to be filled by Emiratis and, as we’ve pointed to previously, most national candidates end up in retail or commercial banking positions. Compared to investment banking, where the work is competitive and the hours are long, these roles are relatively easy. And, with the sort [...]
Four things you must have to secure a wealth management role in the Middle East
The number of wealth managers looking to tap into the growing pool of investable assets in the Middle East is on an upward trajectory. The likes of Barclays Wealth, Coutts, Jefferies, J.P. Morgan, Lombard Odier, Merrill Lynch and UBS have all been talking up MENA expansion plans currently, and a number of other firms have [...]
Opportunities coming at new UAE regulator and EBRD
Shake-ups are coming to the way that financial services firms are regulated in the UAE and job opportunities are being created. At the same time, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is targeting the Middle East and hiring for its new offices. Firstly, there’s the new beefed Securities and Commodities Association, which has [...]
Barclays’ MENA expansion plan is kicking off
Barclays is expanding in the Middle East and has plans to hire as many as 100 people over the next six months. This already appears to be kicking off. The bank has named Alexander Harrison as head of debt finance, UAE and GCC, and this is expected to be an area of expansion for the [...]
Q&A: RBS’s Middle East CEO on why arrogance has no place in investment banking
Simon Penney, chief executive for the Middle East and Africa at Royal Bank of Scotland, who oversees its investment banking activity in the region, has been with the same firm for over 12 years. You might assume, therefore, that he’s not the overly adventurous type. The reality is, however, that he has travelled the world [...]
An international Islamic investment bank is looking to expand in the Middle East
For all the pomp around Islamic finance, it’s still rare that a dedicated Islamic institution actively talks up expansion plans, particularly in more sophisticated areas of the industry. However, Bank of London and the Middle East is moving into the region and talking about growth, particularly in its private and corporate banking business, according to [...]
Is there more pain to come for UAE brokerages?
Brokerages in the UAE have, of course, had a tough time over the last two years, with slumping trading volumes leading to mass closures and heavy redundancy announcements. Could there be more to come? In the first quarter of this year, despite the uptick in trading volume on UAE bourses, brokerages lost a collective AED10m. [...]
Why investment banks in the Middle East may soon get by with less than 10 staff
If investment banking advisory work is your bread and butter, the Middle East is not a great place to be right now. Rothschild’s decision to pare back headcount in its regional office is evidence of this. Over the last year, Rothschild has reduced its Middle Eastern headcount from 17 to eight people, according to Reuters, [...]
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