The UK-headquartered bank has opened an office in Riyadh after securing a Capital Market Authority licence in Saudi Arabia. It has also named a CEO to lead the business.

Barclays has opened an office in Riyadh’s King Abdullah Financial District after receiving an operational licence from Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority. The licence grants it authority to conduct investment banking and global markets business in the Kingdom.

The bank has appointed Majed Al Hassoun as chief executive and head of investment banking of Barclays Capital Saudi, the local legal entity. Based in Riyadh, he will cover corporate, government and institutional clients and act as the bank’s senior representative with regulators. He reports to Khaled El Dabag, chief executive of the regional headquarters and co-chief executive and head of investment banking, Middle East.

Al Hassoun has joined from State Street Saudi Arabia, where he was CEO. He previously served as head of investment banking at Citigroup and at Saudi Fransi Capital.

As explained to this news service in a recent interview, the private banking arm of Barclays has close links with its investment and corporate banking arms, particularly important for clients with operational businesses and in international locations.

The decision to open the office comes amid continued geopolitical challenges in the Gulf region. This news service has chronicled how, for the medium term, wealth managers, banks and other financial groups continue to eye expansion opportunities.

The licence builds on the regional headquarters licence Barclays secured in 2025. Saudi Arabia’s regional headquarters programme has pushed international firms seeking government business to establish a base in the Kingdom, with global banks including Goldman Sachs and Citi having expanded their Riyadh operations in recent years.

Barclays has also filled several senior posts in the Saudi business. Abdulaziz Abdulrahman A Alshenaifi is the head of markets, Abdullah AlToukhi is head of institutional coverage, Susheel Jain is chief financial officer, and Abdulrahman Alanazi is head of compliance and money laundering reporting officer. Mohammed Al-Sarhan was appointed earlier as independent non-executive chairman of the board.

The bank serves Middle East clients through its investment banking, markets and private banking platforms. Its regional franchise is led by El Dabag and Walid Mezher as co-chief executives.