RIYADH, 16 December 2007 — As the number of high net worth individuals (HNWIs) — those with more than $1 million in investable assets — in the Middle East is set to increase by 2.8 percent next year, Credit Suisse has deployed a team of six Private Banking Relationship Managers for Saudi Arabia, based in Dubai, as part of a strategic move to beef up its private banking team in the Kingdom.
This underlines the bank’s commitment to further strengthen its activities and services to clients in the Kingdom’s dynamic growth market, Credit Suisse said in a statement yesterday.
Commenting on its new initiative, Bruno Daher, head of Private Banking in the Middle East/Indian Sub-Continent and co-CEO in the Middle East, said: “I am delighted that these talented individuals are joining Credit Suisse to complement our existing team of specialists for Saudi Arabia. They will be instrumental in helping us to further strengthen our presence in this important and rapidly growing private banking market. People are a key component in Credit Suisse’s growth plans and we offer a compelling client value proposition to attract and retain the top talent.”
Ashraf Bajsair has been named the team leader, assisted by Jihan Amiry, Mazen Takhah, Karl Abdelnour, Zohaer Eitani and Khalid Bin Mahfooz as relationship managers. They bring with them a wealth of experience during their tenure with various reputed banks in Jeddah, Al Khobar, Dubai and Riyadh.
Daher said the Dubai-based team complements the existing dedicated resources in Zurich, Geneva and London covering Saudi clients. He pointed out that Credit Suisse has been building its knowledge and understanding of the Middle East region for over three decades. As a result of the dynamic economic development and considerable opportunities for wealth creation, the Middle East has become one of Credit Suisse’s core growth markets, he said.
According to Ibrahim Dabdoub, chief executive of National Bank of Kuwait and quoted in the recent Merrill Lynch-Cap Gemini annual world wealth report, “there is a lot of liquidity, estimated at over $1.5 trillion, in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar that has been created by stock markets and the real estate boom.”