Swiss private bank and asset manager Lombard Odier is planning to open a new branch office in Abu Dhabi to offer advisory services.
Lombard Odier has gained approval in principle from Abu Dhabi General Market for the new branch that would make it the first Swiss private bank to set up in the UAE capital.
It would also be the bank’s second office in UAE, adding to the representative office it has had in Dubai for the last 12 years, making the UAE the only country outside Switzerland in which Lombard Odier has more than one office.
According to managing director Arnaud Leclercq, the Mena region is “a key strategic market” for the bank and has experienced 15% annual growth for the last ten years. It is also hoping to grow its Mena business to account for 10% of its $276 billion of assets under management.
The Abu Dhabi office will be led by the firm’s current regional head Christophe Lalandre while a new head for the Dubai office is set to be appointed in April. Five people have already been recruited to work in the new branch which is expected to open in the first half of 2019.
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