Falcon on track to meet $1b targetin UAE

Abu Dhabi: Falcon Private Bank, owned by Abu Dhabi's Aabar Investments, will achieve its target of $1 billion (Dh3.67 billion) in assets under management (AUM) in the UAE by the end of 2011, helped by Gulf investors moving away from traditional investment hubs, its chief executive said.

"People in this region don't go by default to Switzerland anymore," Eduardo Leeman, said. "People want to diversify geographically their assets so the default is now Singapore and Dubai."

Leeman told Reuters in April that it aimed to achieve $1 billion AUM in the UAE by the end of the year, a target which the bank would meet "after the [Formula One] race", he added.

However, the bank was still waiting to receive an investment advisory licence from the UAE Central Bank, Leeman said.