RBS Coutts, the international private banking unit of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group, has recently appointed Santosh Keni as head its the non-resident Indian and South Asia business in the Middle East.

Keni, who is based in Dubai, rejoins the company from Barclays Wealth, where he served as head of the NRI business in the UAE. He was part of RBS Coutts' investment advisory team in Singapore from 2003 to 2008, and then later led the bank's NRI initiatives in the Middle East.

"We see huge opportunities in the Middle East for expanding our wealth management business, underpinned by the strong economies and the natural resources wealth. Over the next few years, we aim to double our business and will invest significantly in our people resources and market reach in the region," James Fleming, global head of Middle East for RBS Coutts, said in a statement.

Like other key emerging markets, the Middle East presents a wealth of opportunity for financial managers looking to access the growing number of high net worth individuals worldwide. Affluent NRIs in particular are a sought-after group because not only do they tend to generate more revenue than the local client, their reduced dependence on branch banking also lowers the servicing cost.