Bank of Singapore’s Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Branch has announced six new appointments to enhance its advisory and product solutions in the region.

Ranjit Khanna, Bank of Singapore’s head of private banking, Europe and Middle East, and chief executive, DIFC Branch said, “We are very excited to welcome our new colleagues to the advisory team in Dubai to drive our growth ambitions forward. Providing our clients with timely and relevant advice is our key deliverable and I am elated that our new colleagues will add to our already compelling global advisory and product proposition. These new joiners bring with them fresh perspectives and diverse expertise that will further enhance our objective to be a trusted advisor to our clients for all their investments and wealth management needs, providing them with the best advice and a world-class, global platform that opens doors to services and products they may not have accessed before.”

Zeena Abou Elnaja joins the bank’s investment advisory team from Julius Baer. A CFA by qualification, Zeena has also worked with Standard Chartered Bank in the Middle East and will further strengthen the advisory capabilities for Bank of Singapore’s clients across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) markets.

Additionally, Mehvish Ayub joined as a senior specialist covering managed solutions and alternatives in the region. Mehvesh joined Bank of Singapore from State Street Global Advisors where she was the head of investment strategies across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Mehvish is also CFA-qualified and previously worked with Morgan Stanley and Barings Asset Management. She will lead the bank’s strategic deliverables on funds advisory and mandate solutions.

Earlier in the month, the Bank of Singapore welcomed Brandon Chee as a product specialist covering equity and structured products advisory. The bank recognises the importance of structured product advisory within a well-balanced portfolio, providing the appropriate asymmetry in portfolios as well as yield enhancement. Brandon is a specialist in this space with over 15 years of experience in Asia with banks such as OCBC and CIMB. Bank of Singapore also welcomed Anish Mehta as a product specialist on the FX advisory desk. Anish relocated from London to the UAE and has over 15 years of experience in the FX, commodities and derivatives markets. He joined the bank from Rabobank in London, where he was the director of FX and commodities desk.

Also joining the Bank of Singapore soon will be Yasmine Omari, as head of wealth planning for the bank’s Dubai hub, and Fatima Al Zadjali as director of marketing and communications. Yasmine was most recently with Ernst & Young where she was a senior manager, providing advice to ultra-high-net-worth families across the region on family governance, succession planning and mediations. Yasmine has also worked with PWC and Deloitte across the Middle East region. Fatima joined the bank from the private banking division of Habib Bank AG Zurich, where she helped them build their communications and profile across the Swiss and Middle East markets. She has previously worked with Standard Chartered and Mashreq Bank.

Underscoring Bank of Singapore’s commitment to building intellectual capital and thought leadership, Ranjit added, “These hires are key for us strategically, as we continue to build our Dubai hub’s presence across the region. The timing could also not be better, as we prepare for our upcoming Global CIO Advisory Summit that will be held in Dubai in February 2025.”

The inaugural CIO Summit was held in Singapore last year. An annual event, the Summit is driven by Bank of Singapore’s Chief Investment Office (CIO), with the CIO Global Advisory Council (GAC), an independent investment advisory council set up by the bank and comprises experts from leading think tanks and asset managers around the world.

Re-disseminated by The Asian Banker