eFinancialCareers

Credit Suisse has further extended its footprint in the Middle East with the majority ownership of a local player in Saudi. But does this mean it’s actually hiring in the kingdom? It’s been an active year in the GCC for Credit Suisse, which has so far bolstered its equities team in Dubai and gained a licence to operate in Bahrain. After setting up shop in Saudi in May, it has... Read more

Blood might be on the floor in Merrill Lynch’s Western operations as the bank prepares to fire thousands in the wake of the Bank of America takeover, but the expansion of its Middle Eastern presence might help to mop up a bit. The bank’s chief executive, John Thain, says that it remains committed to increasing its wealth management, investment banking and sales and trading activities in the GCC, and has... Read more

International financial services firms are flocking to the Gulf like bees to honey, so in the first of our monthly round-ups of significant moves and new offices in the region, we give you a bite-sized review of what’s been going on throughout this month. Russian banks have been busy, with the country’s second largest bank, VTB, announcing plans to open a Dubai office. Its larger rival, Renaissance Capital, was said... Read more

Forget the 2,600 investment banking redundancies in its western operations and the $37bn in subprime-related writedowns, UBS is in expansion mode in the Middle East. Having gained a licence to operate in Saudi Arabia, the bank will be moving fixed income banker Mohamed Sammakia over to head the office and is also applying for a licence to set up in Qatar. UBS currently employs around 100 bankers in the GCC and... Read more

It may still be difficult for women to make it to dizzy heights on the career ladder in financial services in the Middle East, but, as these five prove, it’s not impossible… Maha al-Ghunaim MD and chairperson, Global Investment House (Kuwait) Al-Ghunaim is well known in Western markets and recently gained greater prominence: last week she announced plans to raise $500m from UK investors for a Middle East and North Africa... Read more

Islamic finance might be hot stuff in investment banking, retail banking and insurance, but it is being overlooked in the wealth management arena, and is facing a dearth of qualified staff to drive it forward. The growth of Islamic finance in the GCC has been phenomenal. A recent conference on the sector said there was now more than $500bn in Sharia-compliant assets in the region, and this is tipped to... Read more

The UAE banking sector has had no shortage of commentators singing its praises over Emiratisation. But are the local banks living up to the hype? While international banks like Barclays, HSBC and Standard Chartered have been singled out for their Emiratisation commitments, most of the multinational firms in the freezone of the Dubai International Finance Centre (DIFC) are exempt from the quota. The onus is on the local banks, who have take... Read more

Financial services firms in the GCC are set to increase their headcount by 30% in the next few years, and up to 50,000 more jobs could be created. A study by Hewitt Associates shows that banks in the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and Jordan are laggards when it comes to recruiting enough people to cope with increased levels of business. As a result, they’re set to splurge on staff. “Being... Read more

In the past, the Middle East has struggled to attract top bankers, but now international investment banks are moving them there in numbers. Citigroup The struggling US bank announced the appointment of Alberto Verme to head up its investment banking division in Dubai. Verme is one of Citigroup’s most senior bankers, currently global co-head of investment banking, and the move is part of a wider effort to bolster the bank’s presence in... Read more