JP Morgan sets up Dubai private banking team for growing affluent clientele

Biggest US lender says it plans to continue growing its wealth management operation in the region

A visitor poses for a 'selfie' near luxury cars outside the Dubai Mall. Dubai is ranked as the 21st wealthiest city in the world. Bloomberg

JP Morgan Chase, the biggest US lender, is building a team of private bankers in the UAE, a move aimed at boosting the bank’s wealth management business in the broader Middle East region amid a sharp increase in the number of millionaires calling the region home.

The team of dedicated advisers will join JP Morgan’s existing lines of business, serving the region out of its Dubai offices, the bank said in a statement on Wednesday.

Two internal hires – Sebastian Botana de Beauvau from Geneva and Carol Mushriqui from JP Morgan Private Bank London office – will provide wealth management services to affluent individuals, family offices, charities and family foundations across the region.

The bank said it plans to “grow the team steadily in the coming years” to serve its clientele in the Middle East, which has been a fast-growing global hub for innovation, attracting global interest and investment.

“There are several factors that make the region an appealing destination for our clients today,” Karim Rekik, head of emerging markets and Middle East at JP Morgan International Private Bank, said. “The Middle East continues to be a critical part of our growth agenda, both at the Private Bank and the firm more broadly.”

Global and regional banks, as well as domestic financial institutions in the region, are pouring additional resources into the Middle East to increase their share of the growing pie of wealth management business. The number of affluent clients in the broader Middle East, particularly in the six-member economic bloc of the Gulf, has risen sharply in recent years.

High-net-worth individuals are flocking to the oil-rich Gulf economies lured by flexible visa schemes, zero personal income tax regime, investment incentives and the luxurious lifestyle they offer.

Dubai, the region’s commercial, leisure and tourism hub, is ranked as the 21st wealthiest city in the world, with the Middle East's highest concentration of resident millionaires at 72,500, Henley & Partners, which tracks private wealth and investment migration trends worldwide, said in a report in May.

The city, which recorded a 78 per cent growth in its millionaire population over the past 10 years, is also home to 212 centi-millionaires – people with a net worth of $100 million or more in investable assets – and 15 billionaires, according to the report jointly compiled with global intelligence provider New World Wealth.

A record 6,700 millionaires are expected to call the UAE home by the end of this year, as it maintains its rank as the world's top wealth magnet for the third year in a row.

The country is poised to attract nearly twice as many millionaires as its nearest rival, the US, which is forecast to open its doors to 3,800 millionaires by the end of 2024, Henley & Partners said in a separate report earlier this year.

“To match these exciting prospects and to meet our client’s complex needs, we are bringing a team of dedicated advisers,” Mr Rekik said.

JP Morgan’s international private bank is larger than any of its US rivals and the Wall Street bank has been growing its wealth offering in recent years. It has already added 11 city locations in the Past decade, Bloomberg reported, citing a May presentation by the bank.