Bahrain-based Bank ABC, a leading international financial group in the region, has announced the appointment of Ammar Khalil as the senior executive officer of the bank’s branch at the Dubai International Financial Centre.

In his new role, Khalil will have the overall responsibility of leading the bank’s UAE strategy across all wholesale banking, treasury and financial markets products, working closely with the other product lines and geography teams in the Bank ABC Group.

Bank ABC has been reinforcing its leadership teams in key markets in its network that spans 16 countries, it stated.

An industry veteran, Khalil has over 20 years of experience in banking across institutions in the US and GCC. Most recently he served as the managing director and head of coverage for Mena region at Natixis DIFC, said the bank in its statement.

Prior to that he was head of institutional banking for the Mena region at HSBC Bank Middle East. He has previous experience as group head of institutional banking at National Bank of Kuwait, and in various roles at the Bank of New York, Bank ABC (NY branch) and Arab American Bank, driving Mena-US business flows, it added.

Jonathan Robinson, Group Head of Wholesale Banking, said: "We are also focusing on growing our relationships with large local corporates, financial institutions, and network corporates based in the UAE. Our strategy is to continue growing our regional capital markets franchise and provide clients with a more comprehensive product suite."

On his appointment, Khalil said: "I am delighted to join Bank ABC and contribute to its expanding franchise in the region. The UAE will play an increasingly important role in bank’s strategy as it represents an important regional hub for inbound and outbound Mena trade and investment flows."

The Bank ABC Group is a leading international wholesale bank which provides retail banking services through its network of banks in Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria.-TradeArabia News Service