The private banking arm of South African Nedbank has appointed Andrew Bates to head of its Middle East and Asia operation. Based in the UAE, Bates will join Mark Leale, regional manager of the bank’s Dubai office.

Bates has been with the bank for over nine years, previously overseeing the launch of its UK office in London. With the move to Dubai, Bates will take part in the bank’s international expansion plans into the private client and intermediary sectors. He has over 20 years’ experience in the financial services industry and joined the bank from Lloyds TSB Bank in Miami, where he was responsible for promoting banking and investment services to clients in South America.

Greg Horton, managing director of Nedbank Private Wealth, said that the firm was experiencing high demand for private banking services in the Middle East and Asia region.

“We opened our Middle East office in April 2011 in order to serve our existing clients in the region, and now that it is firmly established, we are experiencing rapid growth there, as well as further afield in the Far East.”

Nedbank Private Wealth provides private banking, investment management and fiduciary services through its offices in the UK, Isle of Man, Jersey, Dubai and South Africa.

In related news, Nedbank Group, which is the majority-owned South African banking subsidiary of Old Mutual, said that its net interest income grew 7.3 per cent to ZAR5.12 billion (around $572.75 million), as of 31 March 2013, thanks to growth in average interest-earning banking assets.