BNP Paribas Wealth Management

STRONG COMMITMENT TO THE MIDDLE EAST REGION REAPS REWARDS

Masroor Batin, CEO Wealth Management - Middle East and Africa (MEA), BNP Paribas Wealth Management, sets out the strengths of this firm.

Masroor Batin

CEO Wealth Management BNP Paribas Wealth Management

BNP Paribas Wealth Management is an award-winning leading private bank and is the largest private bank in the eurozone (€408 billion AuM / 6,800+ professionals), providing wealth management solutions to clients across Europe, Asia, US and the Middle East.

In MEA, BNP Paribas Wealth Management serves its ultra-high net worth clients through its 40 experienced bankers located across UAE, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Saudi Arabia.

While we offer our universal capabilities to our clients, in the region, our clients benefit specifically from the expertise of BNP Paribas Real Estate and our awardwinning Islamic Banking division.

Please explain what you think makes your firm successful in its chosen field.

The client centricity has been enhanced through a revamped commercial organisation; the offering has been strengthened through a stronger coordination with other business and sites of the group and through the development of new local products; the expertise of the site has been supported through the hiring of key talents and finally, the platform has been upgraded and digitised to further enhance client experience.

In 2022, we focused on accelerating our ambitions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with the activation of the onshore platform and the hiring of key talents to reinforce our KSA coverage. Also leveraging our universal expertise and the group strength, we continued to attract new clients and accompany existing ones to navigate markets.

As a result, we have witnessed a very significant growth with our assets doubling since 2018. This year, despite a very challenging macroeconomic context, we expect to grow our assets by $1 billion underpinning the strength of the team, the depth of our expertise and the continued support of our clients.

What have been the main obstacles you had to overcome and how did you do so to reach this level?

The general environment has been a true challenge. Starting from the COVID and its restrictions to the conflict in Europe, we had to quickly adapt and advise our clients in a very volatile environment. This year has been challenging due to difficult markets which have impacted our clients, who, more than ever, have used our global expertise to navigate these turbulent times.

Competition also has been very fierce. Dubai is one of the most competitive banking centres with the presence of local and global players with strong ambitions to grow in the region. However, we continue to appear as a reference player mostly thanks to our unique value proposition supported by the strength of the BNP Paribas Group, our talented team that is widely recognised and finally thanks to the strength of our values that is driving trust and loyalty from our clients.

How do awards such as this make a difference to your firm and your colleagues? a strong testament of everyone’s work and efforts. Our teams are dedicated and hard working towards delivering best-in-class solutions to our clients. The recognition of their work and expertise is key in attracting new talents and retaining existing ones.

We are extremely proud of our successes with WealthBriefing in MENA, and we will continue to strive towards best serving our clients and deliver our ambitions.

What position would you like your firm to hold in its sector in five years’ time?

Our ambitions in the Middle East are very strong. We want to continue our double-digit growth for the years to come notably in Saudi Arabia. More than financials, we want to remain the reference bank for entrepreneurs and families in the region.

PRIVATE BANK - CREDIT PROVIDER

WINNER BNP Paribas Wealth Management

PRIVATE BANK - MENA REGION

WINNER BNP Paribas Wealth Management

PRIVATE BANK SERVICING THE EXPAT COMMUNITY

WINNER BNP Paribas Wealth Management

REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT PROPOSITION OR SERVICE

WINNER BNP Paribas Wealth Management