UBS Dubai partners with Credit Suisse bankers

UBS Group in Dubai is hiring a group of private bankers from rival Credit Suisse Group as the Swiss lender continues to expand its Gulf business that caters to India’s wealthy diaspora. Sanjay Advani and members of his team that serve non-resident Indians are set to join UBS in the coming months, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be named because the information is private.

The appointment is part of a push by UBS to focus on the growing number of rich Indians living overseas at a time when the sub-continent is seeing rising wealth. The Asian nation recently overtook the UK to become the world’s fifth-largest economy. UBS in Singapore also recently hired three private bankers from Credit Suisse to boost its NRI coverage.

UBS has been reshuffling its wealth management business in the Middle East to tap a growing pool of rich clients. The business hub of Dubai, where Advani and his team are based, continues to be a magnet for global capital after Russia’s attack on Ukraine. UBS has split coverage of rich clients from the Gulf, Saudi Arabia and NRIs, and last year hired veteran private banker Lilian Simerly from Julius Baer Group.

In 2021, it also poached a private banking team from Credit Suisse in Dubai. Elsewhere, it expanded its wealth team in Israel and set up a new office in Doha.

A representative for Credit Suisse has been quoted as saying the bank remains fully committed to the Middle East and will continue to invest. Clients are being served by its existing team, they said. UBS’s move to hire a group of private bankers from Credit Suisse is a sign of the growing competition among banks to tap into the rising wealth of India’s diaspora.

The bank’s focus on this segment is also in line with the broader trend of wealth management firms looking to expand their offerings to serve the growing number of wealthy individuals in emerging markets.