Standard Chartered plans 50 private banking hires in the UAE

Standard Chartered's UAE operation has been doing rather well so far this year, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that the bank is including the region in its plans to add 850 people globally to its priority banking team.

The bank intends to add 50 relationship managers to its priority banking team in the UAE by the end of 2010, which equates to doubling the current headcount in this division.

The priority banking service is included within Standard Chartered's wider private banking offering. It's not surprising, therefore, that Asia (where a large number of banks are building their wealth management capabilities) is going to see the bulk of the 850 hires.

According to the latest World Wealth Report by Merrill Lynch and Capgemini, the fortunes of high net worth individuals in the Middle East dropped by 16.2% in 2008, suggesting demand for private bankers could be on the wane.

Nonetheless, a recent study into future wealth growth by the Scorpio Partnership says that the affluent segment of the Middle East (those with more than $100k in investable assets) is growing at 8% a year - much faster than other parts of the world.

Standard Chartered therefore remains bullish on the region, and Deanna Othman, general manager, premium banking in the UAE, says it is "investing heavily for future growth".

In July, Standard Chartered hired David Inglesfield to head up its private banking operations in the Middle East and North Africa region, and said the region was included in its plans to "accelerate its operations in its fast-growing markets".