Sector: Private Banking / Wealth Management

Battle of the private banks: international versus regional players

Even in the relatively buoyant wealth management sector, international banks have taken their foot off the gas when it comes to expansion. Now, however, they’re facing some tough competition retaining people from high-paying regional players. From a career perspective, which what are the advantages of working for each? The likes of Barclays Wealth, Credit Suisse, [...]

By Paul Clarke, 27 September 2011 • 0 comments

International banks have started making redundancies in the Gulf: which firms are the safer bets?

Inevitably, it’s started happening; international investment banks that have been making thousands of redundancies globally have started trimming their Middle Eastern teams. Nomura has shut its regional equity research team, while both Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse have laid of senior MENA-focused research analysts, according to Reuters. We also understand that UBS has made three [...]

By Paul Clarke, 21 September 2011 • 0 comments

GUEST COMMENT: I’ve served my time in the Middle East; take me back Asia

The financial world is ablaze again at the moment – market turmoil, downgrading, interest rates. Chaotic for all in working the industry. But haven’t there been enough market dips in the last three years? I was living and working in Asia in 2008 at the time of the most recent major crash. Life was good. [...]

By Anonymous, 7 September 2011 • 3 comments

GUEST COMMENT: Private banking should be more than harvesting clients’ assets

I’ve worked in private banking for over 20 years across many different countries, but despite being based in the UAE for the last eight years, I am constantly astounded by the limited strategy put out by the banks hiring here. You can be a seasoned banker with an MBA under your belt, but the first [...]

By Anonymous, 31 August 2011 • 4 comments

UBS has INCREASED its headcount in the MENA region by 21%

UBS has just released its Q2 results and they’re not good; net profit has fallen by nearly 50%. Cost cutting is coming (by up to $2.5bn over the next two to three years) and inevitably this means big redundancies. Within its relatively diminutive MENA team, however, there are reasons to believe that overall headcount will [...]

By Paul Clarke, 26 July 2011 • 0 comments

Why NRI private bankers are the new hot property in the Gulf

Wealth management in the Middle East remains a relative hot bed of job opportunities, but within the sector competition for private bankers with the expertise to service the non-resident Indian (NRI) high net worth population is really heating up. The Middle East is home to 750 ultra-high net worth NRIs, which is the fourth largest [...]

By Paul Clarke, 25 July 2011 • 0 comments

GUEST COMMENT: The poaching frenzy in Gulf wealth management

Wealth management has stood out as being something of a hive of recruitment activity within the Middle East financial services sector recently. However, with talent on the ground limited, many banks are chasing the same pool of people. The motivations for international banks increasing their wealth management presence in the Middle East are obvious: wealth [...]

By Jonathan Gould, 6 June 2011 • 1 comment

The hiring headache as wealth managers look to expand in the Middle East

The good news for private bankers working in the Middle East is that a host of international firms are eyeing expansion in the region again. The bad news, however, is that hiring’s likely to be selective, internal transfers are on the cards and many wealth managers are chasing the same pool of talent. This week [...]

By Paul Clarke, 20 January 2011 • 0 comments

MIDDLE EAST MOLE: Expect a better 2011, but we’re not out of the woods yet

By now, you’re no doubt contemplating what this year’s bonus is gong to be like, rather than thinking about what lies ahead in 2011. Judging by past 12 months, and regardless of what some day-dreamers will tell you, there is little to support a claims of a material increase in bonus payments on last year. [...]

By Jamal Bahir, 29 December 2010 • 1 comment

GUEST COMMENT: Where the jobs are now in the Gulf financial sector

Now that the dust has begun to settle following a turbulent 18 months for the Middle East financial sector, during which too many people were chasing too few positions following a raft of redundancies, jobs are starting to emerge again. It is, of course, too early to suggest that we’re out of the woods yet. [...]

By Ally Ho, 18 November 2010 • 0 comments