The bank has announced the appointment of Greg Smith, formerly of Lloyds TSB’s private banking department, to its Dubai office. It also said its 30-strong Middle East support team, based in the Isle of Man, will be headed by Gordon Crowe and has hired Claire Quayle as a new personal banker.
“We have doubled our client base and doubled the number of assets under management from the Middle East,” said Andrew Bates, head of the Middle East for Nedbank Private Wealth said in an interview with International Adviser.
Bates said the expansion had come not just from servicing British expats in the Gulf but from a growing number of South African clients, non-resident Indians, Asian and locals.
“Our operations have now become firmly established in the Middle East and we are seeing extremely strong growth in both levels of business and client numbers,” Bates said.
Nedbank is headquartered in the Isle of Man with offices in the UK, Jersey and Dubai where it offers private banking, investment management and fiduciary services to high net worth individuals, non-trading companies, trusts, governments and institutional investors.
Bates said in the Gulf it focuses on internationally mobile clients, working or living overseas, who like to keep their assets in a safe, well known, offshore jurisdiction governed by strong regulations. Clients can also get multi-currency accessibility to banking and investment solutions coupled with a consistent relationship with their wealth manager.
The bank continues to benefit from a withdrawal by competitors such as Barclays, Lloyds TSB and RBS from the region which has left many clients looking for a new partner to help manage their wealth.
He also said the bank benefits from having 100% fee transparency. ”We do not have a sales team, no one earns a commission, everyone is salaried,” Bates said.
