GF
Company: Shuaa Capital
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 [...]
Shuaa caps job cuts at a mere 60% of total headcount
As statements go, the one from Sheikh Maktoum bin Hasher Al Maktoum, executive chairman of Shuaa Capital, saying that the bank’s redundancy programme has finished isn’t exactly comforting – it’s already reduced headcount by 60% since this time last year. There are various euphemisms for redundancy – cost efficiencies, realignment, reshaping our cost base – [...]
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 [...]
International banks are starting new Dubai operations…and hiring wealth managers
The fact that US securities firm, Jefferies, has opened a new office in the DIFC could be viewed as a tentative vote of confidence for investment banking prospects in the Gulf. However, much like many other international firms, its main motivation is to tap into the vast pool of wealth in the region. Jefferies has [...]
Shuaa is making more cuts, but expanding its SME business
It says a lot about the changing priorities at Shuaa Capital that the safest place for its employees this year is within its SME lending business. The story of 2011 for the regional institution was one of downsizing. Its headcount reduced by 39% throughout the course of 2011, or 111 employees, and a further 55 [...]
Disaster in Abu Dhabi as local investment firm gets rid of 50% of its staff
Yes, there have been redundancies in the Middle East. Equity research jobs have been cut. Shuaa Capital and Hermes announced some job losses last year, along with various international banks. Global Investment House and Kipco Asset Management announced nearly 100 job cuts in January. But, as far as we know, there haven’t been any other cuts [...]
Who hired in the Middle East in January?
For the time of year, the number of new hires announced in the Middle East financial sector was relatively modest, with a focus on wealth management or very senior recruitment. Barclays has unveiled Kersi Patel as head of trade and working capital. He joins from HSBC. Barclays Wealth has announced the appointment of Faisal Shaker [...]
Equity researchers in the Gulf need to seriously start considering their career options
With trading volumes on GCC stock markets in the doldrums for some time now, demand for quality equity research has dwindled. The latest bank to pare back headcount in this area is Shuaa Capital, which revealed yesterday that it would be making five staff in its research department redundant, while also redeploying others. Credit Suisse, [...]
2011: What went up and what went down in Gulf financial services recruitment?
After a subdued 2010, this year was hotly anticipated to be one of active recruitment in the Gulf financial sector. Unfortunately, political uprisings in the region, combined with an increasingly gloomy global picture, has meant another quiet 12 months. Nonetheless, some have benefited while others have fallen by the wayside. Here is our considered opinion [...]
Results at EFG Hermes and Shuaa Capital show the sad state of investment banking in MENA
Shuaa Capital and EFG Hermes are two of the largest investment banks in the Middle East and their Q3 results are indicative of the sad state of the sector in the region – tumbling revenues, redundancies and ongoing cost cutting. In the first nine months of 2011, revenues within EFG Hermes’ investment bank has declined [...]
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