BLME has named founding director Nigel Denison as head of wealth management.

Bank of London and The Middle East has named Nigel Denison as head of wealth management – a role which incorporates private banking and asset management – while also announcing two other senior appointments.

Denison is one of BLME’s founding directors, the others being chief executive Humphrey Percy and Richard Williams, finance director. Denison will continue to hold the roles of head of markets and executive director of BLME in addition to his new responsibilities, the bank said in a statement.

BLME, which was launched at the start of 2007, is an example of how financial institutions are tapping growing wealth held by Muslims, and providing Shariah-compliant products and services for them. 

In its statement today, BLME said Patrick Rochette has, meanwhile, been appointed head of international client coverage and product development, and Julie Yim has been named head of treasury sales.

Rochette came to the bank in 2007, and since then has been responsible for distribution and structuring, including the development of products such as profit rate swaps. Yim has been with BLME since November of last year, prior to which she was head of banks at Standard Chartered Bank London, where she had been responsible for multi-product sales and e-sales.

The trio of appointments are an integral part of the bank’s strategy and business development, Percy said, adding that BLME is confident that the UK will remain the hub for the Islamic finance sector in Europe, with strong growth prospects over the next 12 months.

In other recent news, last month the bank launched a fund targeting institutional and high net worth individuals in Gulf countries seeking higher returns than from the bank’s current US Dollar Income Fund.

The new fund is called the BLME High Yield Fund. It targets a net return of three-month $ Libor (London Interbank Offered Rate) in addition to a 5 per cent return per annum by investing up to 85 per cent in Sukuk (Islamic bonds) and 15 per cent in Ijara (a lease contract on an asset). The fund has been launched with $10 million of seed capital.