There is a change at the top of the bank's Middle East business – the current CEO has moved to a new role to drive growth, while a former JP Morgan senior banker has taken up the vacated position.

Union Bancaire Privée has named former JP Morgan senior figure Mohamed Shoukry as the new CEO of UBP Middle East, its Dubai-based subsidiary. His predecessor has moved to a new role to help the Geneva-headquartered lender target the region’s growth.

Shoukry's appointment is effective from 1 January, subject to regulatory approval.  

Shoukry has more than two decades’ experience in the industry, working in firms in the Middle East and North Africa. Prior to joining UBP, he served in senior roles at Citigroup, Mashreq Bank, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and, most recently, at JP Morgan as head of multinational coverage for Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa.

The appointment comes after a move by Mohamed Hamed Abdellatif, who joined the Bank in 2012 and has served as the CEO of UBP Middle East since 2015. Since the start of this year, he has taken on the job of co-head for the Middle East and Africa region, alongside Walid Shash, who has been driving UBP’s MEA strategy since 2005.  

UBP said it has been reporting fast growth the Middle East, reflected by the strong inflows from UHWNIs, institutional clients and family offices in the last few years. UBP manages more than $12 billion in wealth for its Middle Eastern clients, of which $4.5 billion is managed from Dubai.  

The private bank has been serving the Middle East for more than 20 years and has been present in the region since 2012. Its Dubai office, which is in the Dubai International Financial Centre, has a team of more than 40 people.

Earlier in January this news service interviewed IQ-EQ, the investor services group, about its views on the growth of the market in the UAE and wider region.