The business that is majority-owned by Swiss private banking and wealth management house Reyl & Cie is to launch in Dubai.

Reyl Finance (MEA), part of Reyl & Cie, has received regulatory approval to carry out asset management and corporate advisory activities in Dubai.

The Middle East and Africa-focused company has been awarded a commercial license from the Dubai Financial Services Authority, with which it will now set up a Dubai operation. The entity will be managed by Pasha Bakhtiar who has over a decade's experience of banking in the region. His previous roles include chief executive at ES Bankers (Dubai) and managing partner at Willow Tree Impact Investors, according to his LinkedIn profile.

The Dubai team will be 10-strong and will predominantly target Middle East and East African markets as these are regions with large numbers of successful entrepreneurs looking for banking services for both their personal wealth and their businesses, Reyl noted. The new license also allows the business to arrange custody of clients’ accounts in its books.

“Dubai is within an 8-hour flight for two-thirds of the world's population and attracts businesses and people from all sectors of the global economy; it is a city of constant innovation, which has now a track record of success and strong growth. So it is only natural for Reyl & Cie, an innovative growing bank, to offer its services and solutions from Dubai,” says Bakhtiar.

“Our wealth management service offering is highly personalized and attractive, but what truly sets us apart from the competition is our ability to weld both the corporate and the private needs of cross-border entrepreneurs active in the region and deliver solid, well thought-out, bespoke solutions.”

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