Germany's largest bank has ambitious growth plans in the Middle East. A team of ten former Credit Suisse bankers is to help further develop the lucrative market.
In the battle for Credit Suisse talent, Deutsche Bank has drawn attention to itself several times in recent months. It was one of the most aggressive poachers; able to win over some of Credit Suisse's top executives. Now, Germany's largest financial institution secured a team of bankers from the UBS subsidiary in a region being heavily courted by international financial institutions: the Middle East.
The German lender is hiring a group of ten wealth managers in its Middle East private banking unit who left Credit Suisse in the summer, «Bloomberg» reports (behind paywall). They're to expand the bank's regional wealth management unit. Business with ultra-rich families and businessmen from the Arab-speaking region is considered very lucrative, and Deutsche Bank has been expanding here for some time.
Lofty Ambitions
Claudio De Sanctis, global head of private banking at Deutsche Bank, signaled the Middle East and Asia-Pacific are central to the bank's ambitions, aiming to become the largest private bank in the eurozone. Last year, it poached three Credit Suisse asset managers for Saudi Arabia, among other things.
De Sanctis was formerly the European head of Credit Suisse and moved to Deutsche Bank's wealth management division in 2018 after working at Credit Suisse for five years and at UBS for a long time prior that. He's since moved into Deutsche Bank's top management.
Attractive Key Market
According to a report by the Boston Consulting Group, assets under management in the United Arab Emirates grew faster last year than in any other booking center in the world. And according to «Bloomberg,» most of Deutsche Bank's recent hires work in Dubai, the Middle East's financial center.
Swiss private banks and asset managers focusing on the Arab financial metropolis. The Gulf region is considered a key market for many institutions due to its rapid growth. The United Arab Emirates is currently attracting investors and financial houses from all over the world like no other financial center, as Arnaud Leclercq, Partner Holding Privé, and Head of New Markets at Lombard Odier, recently enthused.
