Sharjah-based United Arab Bank (UAB), a leading bank in the emirates, has appointed Howard Kitson as the new executive vice president (Wholesale and International Banking).

He will be responsible for the development of UAB’s international corporate banking services.

Howard has over 25 years of international banking experience and has held senior roles with global bank HSBC as well as regional banks.

Prior to joining UAB, Howard was based in Qatar, as the country head for Mashreq Bank Qatar since 2008. Earlier he was based in London as Europe head of Wholesale Banking at Qatar National Bank from 2006 to 2008, said a statement from the bank.

Howard also gained a wealth of international banking experience at HSBC where his roles included being the head of European Credit Risk in London from 2003 to 2006 and head of Commercial Banking based in Lebanon from 2001 to 2003.

Prior to that Howard was the regional head of Non-Bank Financial Institutions based in Singapore from 1997 to 2001. In addition to these roles, Howard also held various global banking roles with HSBC across many markets throughout Asia, Europe, the Americas, and the Middle East over a 10-year span until 1997.

Commenting on the appointment, CEO Paul Trowbridge said: "UAB’s wholesale banking unit is well-positioned to capture corporate credit demand and has increasingly gained momentum over the past few years. We are confident with Howard’s wealth of experience in wholesale and international banking, he will develop the scope of business further and steer the business into even greater success – making us the bank of choice in the corporate banking space.”

Howard holds an Economics BA (Hons) from University of Liverpool, UK and completed an Executive Management Program from the University Of Western Ontario, Canada.

On his new role, Howard said, “I am delighted to be a part of the team at UAB. As the fastest growing bank in the UAE, the bank’s phenomenal growth over the past four years has been truly impressive and I look forward to expanding our wholesale and international banking business by extending our array of products and services to new clients and in new markets.”

Howard’s vast experience and responsibilities during prior roles in banking included commercial banking, investment banking, business development, strategy, risk management, credit and change management, the statement added.-TradeArabia News Service