Further shake up in Credit Suisse’s MENA operations as its most senior banker resigns

Credit Suisse has lost its most senior investment banker in the Middle East, who has resigned to pursue personal interests less than a month after the bank announced plans to downsize in the region.

Bassam Yammine has resigned, according to a report on Reuters later confirmed by Credit Suisse, less than a year after taking up the role of co-head of its investment bank in the Middle East. He had the dual role of running the bank’s Middle East operations along with Bruno Daher and, as of September last year, co-heading the investment banking operations with Saad Bennani.

His decision is not a vote of confidence for the prospects of investment banking in the Middle East, particularly as Credit Suisse has historically enjoyed a healthy pipeline of deal activity due to its close ties with the Qatar government.

Aladdin Hangari is still leading the bank’s operations in Qatar, which is expanding at the expense of its Dubai office. Last month, it was revealed that five junior investment bankers were switching from the UAE to the Peninsula and this follows a similar move with senior investment bankers, as we revealed last year.

Credit Suisse also cut at least two senior bankers from its Dubai team last month, and this follows a number of relocations in 2011. Erwin Van Der Voort, formerly head of Middle East M&A, and George Pavey, its ex-head of equity capital markets for EMEA, moved to New York and Hong Kong respectively and Jeffrey Culpepper, its head of investment banking also left Dubai to be replaced by Yammine and Bennani.