HSBC plans to make UAE a global wealth management hub
Bank to double assets under management over three years
Dubai: HSBC, the oldest bank in the UAE is working on a plan to make UAE a global wealth management hub in the next three years.
“The new year marks the 75th anniversary of the presence of the bank in UAE. HSBC commits to grow its wealth management brand and continue efforts to almost double our assets under management during the coming three years,” said Abdul Fattah Sharaf, Group General Manager, CEO of HSBC in the UAE and Head of International at HSBC Bank Middle East Limited tolf Gulf News.
HSBC commits to grow its wealth management brand and continue efforts to almost double our assets under management during the coming three years.
The global bank’s plan to enhance its wealth management business in the UAE includes increasing the volume of assets under management and building on the international knowledge and expertise that the bank has in this key sector.
“As we celebrate our 75th anniversary, HSBC has ambitious plans for growth in UAE as we help our customers to bounce back from COVID-19 and return to growth again. The bank is committing billions of dollars to support the long-term plans of our customers across the spectrum, from governments, to multinationals, and fast-growing smaller companies,” said Sharaf.
Leading wealth hub
During the past 50 years, UAE has built itself into a global trade hub, an international financial market, a world leader in sustainable finance, and a magnet for start-ups and home for creative minds and entrepreneurs.
The UAE is one of the world’s main centres for international wealth management, sitting joint fifth in the global rankings compiled by Boston Consulting Group in its annual Global Wealth Report, with $500 billion of cross-border assets under management.
Research shows that the wealth management sectors in the UAE and the wider Middle East region are among the fastest growing in the world.
According to the annual Capgemini World Wealth Report, the industry’s benchmark study of trends in the wealth management industry, the growth in the number and wealth of high net worth individuals in the Middle East outstrips the global average.
The firm’s latest report, published in 2020, shows that the Middle East saw the number of high netwroth individual (HNWI) rise by 9.3 per cent in 2019 while the value of their wealth jumped 10.2 per cent. That compares with rises of 8.8 per cent and 8.6 per cent, respectively, in the global averages.
Big plans
“We are thinking big because we are in a country that has taught us that ambition has no limits. The UAE is celebrating its golden jubilee this year. This occasion represents a real source of inspiration for me personally to recall daily the enormous achievements made by the UAE over the past fifty years,” Sharaf said.
While the past five decades have marked numerous milestones in the transformation of the UAE economy, Sharaf said the launch of the ‘Hope Probe to Mars’ confirms the UAE leadership’s ambitions for the future.
“As an Emirati citizen, leading HSBC’s business in the UAE, I am proud of the role that my colleagues and I have played in supporting the country’s development by helping our customers in the UAE to realize their dreams and hopes,” said Sharaf.
On 14 October 1946, the Imperial Bank opened its doors for the first time in Dubai. This was the first bank in what would later become the United Arab Emirates.
In 1949, the Imperial Bank was renamed The British Bank of Iran and the Middle East. Then, in 1952, following withdrawal from Iran, the bank was renamed again to The British Bank of the Middle East (BBME). HSBC acquired The BBME in 1959 and used the name until 1999.