Gulf Finance House B.S.C. appoints new Risk Management Chief

The new appointee - Mr. Silvan Varghese - has over 15 years of experience in the Middle East as well as in India with many leading international banks and financial institutions.

Commenting on his appointment to the position, Mr. Esam Janahi, Chief Executive Officer of GFH, said that Mr. Varghese will help the investment bank monitor and evaluate investment opportunities in key regional and global markets, while focusing on developing new value-added, growth-oriented investment tools that are in line with the economic needs of the time.

Mr. Janahi said: "Innovation has always been the key to the phenomenal growth that GFH has registered in the five years since its inception. This is quite evident from the pioneering local, regional and global investment instruments we have introduced, that have consistently paid rich dividends to our investors. We are confident that the GFH Risk Management division led by Mr. Varghese will assess high-yielding niche opportunities for investments, ensuring better returns to our shareholders."

Mr. Janahi further said that Mr. Varghese and his team have a critical role in helping to control risk within GFH. They will proactively monitor market risk within GFH's real estate and private equity/venture capital portfolios. Further, members of the Risk Management team will monitor credit and operational risk separately.

"The new appointment comes at a time when GFH is undergoing a fast-paced growth with a number of expansion and diversification plans on the cards," Mr. Janahi added.

Prior to joining GFH, Mr. Varghese was the Head of Risk Management at the Bank of Bahrain & Kuwait (BBK), Kuwait. He also served BBK as Manager, Corporate Banking in Bahrain before moving to the risk management function. Earlier, he worked with ING Barings and Industrial Credit & Investment Corporation (ICICI) in India. Mr. Varghese is also a Certified Financial Risk Manager (FRM) from the Global Association for Risk Professionals (GARP), USA.

Mr. Varghese said: "It is exciting to be part of GFH during its rapid growth phase. Risk management is a critical function for investment banks, particularly for GFH in its aggressive growth mode, and I look forward to this challenging assignment."