GF
Company: Gulf Finance House
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 [...]
Who hired in the Middle East in April?
While many firms have announced their intentions to hire in the Middle East this month, the majority of new hire announcements were restricted to the senior ranks. The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority has reportedly hired Christophe Florin, currently chief operating officer for Axa Private Equity, to head its emerging markets private equity team. This is [...]
Big redundancies at Gulf Finance House are a sad inevitability
The tribulations of Gulf Finance House, which has been weighed down by debts of more than $400m over the last year, have been ongoing. However, as its Q3 results starkly demonstrate, the worst is far from over. Significant redundancies seem inevitable. In the last quarter to the end of September, GFH posted a loss of [...]
The Middle East could provide opportunities for silver-haired bankers
Regardless of UK age discrimination laws, it’s a sad fact of life that once you get the wrong side of 40 (and definitely 50), finding a new position within investment banking becomes more of an uphill struggle. In the Middle East, however, a few grey hairs are appreciated. While hopping on a plane to Dubai [...]
Boutique investment bank eyes Gulf expansion
Exotix, a UK-based boutique investment bank with a focus on emerging markets, has kick-started its Dubai operations and says it has ambitious plans to expand in the region going forward. The bank has been given the thumbs up by the DIFC and has opened its new office with an initial workforce of just three, but [...]
Is Bahrain’s financial sector really growing?
The fact that Bahrain ended 2009 with more financial services jobs than it started with has been heralded as a triumph in the face of the global financial crisis. However, the raw statistics may not be truly representative of the situation in the kingdom currently. Figures from the Central Bank of Bahrain show that there [...]
Is Gulf Finance House poised for fresh growth?
After a rather torrid start to 2009 for Bahraini Islamic investment bank Gulf Finance House, the appointment of a new chief executive with a reputation as a turnaround specialist could spark a change of fortunes. But is it really likely to result in a fresh expansion? Ahmed Fahour has been unveiled as GFH’s new chief [...]
Regional banks double pay to compete with bulge-bracket firms
Expansion is the name of the game for regional banks in the GCC. They are increasing headcount and salaries so rapidly it’s even affecting their bottom line. The latest round of quarterly reporting makes for interesting reading, and not just because of the often double-digit increases in profits. In most cases, they are spending around [...]
Getting in at graduate level
Slow on the uptake they might have been, but banks are realising the value of having graduate schemes in the Middle East. Why the Middle East? For a start, while international banks look to slice headcount, talent in the Middle East is hard to come by, particularly as nascent sectors such as equity capital markets [...]
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