People Moves
Coutts Bolsters Middle East Capabilities With Three Hires, Plans 20 More In 2012
Coutts, the wealth management arm of Royal Bank of Scotland, has made three appointments to its Middle East business, and is also looking to take on 20 more people this year. Of the future hires, 15 will be based in Dubai, the bank’s hub in the region.
Arjun Mittal has been named regional head of the firm’s non-resident Indian business, with responsibility for the Middle East and European markets. Mittal, who will be based in Dubai, joins from Bank Sarasin Alpen in Dubai, where he was managing director with responsibility for developing the NRI franchise in the region. Before that, he spent nine years at American Express Private Bank, most recently in Dubai but initially in London.
Coutts has also made two senior hires to its team covering the Middle East in Geneva. Akram Khattab joins as an executive director in relationship management, while Ali-Reza Vahabzadeh has been named as a vice president, also in relationship management.
Khattab was latterly managing director at Bank Sarasin Alpen in Dubai. In his new role, he will seek to expand Coutts’ footprint in the UAE with particular focus on Dubai and the Northern Emirates.
Vahabzadeh joins from Citi Private Bank’s operation in Abu Dhabi. He was previously a member of Citi’s ultra high net worth team for the Middle East. He will now concentrate on expanding Coutts’ business in Abu Dhabi and Qatar.
The firm has also said that it is in advanced stages of its application for a Dubai International Financial Centre licence. Securing the status of an authorised firm will be a key factor in its growth strategy, Coutts said. Besides Dubai, the firm has offices in Abu Dhabi and Doha, Qatar.
In other recent developments at Coutts, it recently emerged that the firm is planning to cut between 80 and 100 jobs as part of the second stage of an organisational shake-up. Under the new business model, Coutts will place greater emphasis on wealth management in line with client demand and the forthcoming changes driven by the Retail Distribution Review, a programme of UK reforms to financial advice.
