Citigroup appoints Akbar Shah as Head of Global Wealth Management for Middle East

Based in London, Mr Shah will be responsible for managing the private banking business of Citigroup in the one of the fastest growing markets in the world for private wealth.

"Strong economic growth in the region in recent years has led to an unprecedented rate of wealth creation, presenting exciting opportunities for The Citigroup Private Bank (CPB). In the short to medium term, the Gulf region will become increasingly attractive for wealth managers as the market opens up to more foreign competition" said Mr Deepak Sharma, Chief Executive Officer, Citigroup Global Wealth Management, Asia Pacific and Middle East.

Mr Shah said: "The Citigroup Private Bank has been investing significantly and will continue to do so, in building our local capabilities. We already have offices in Dubai, and Abu Dhabi which are staffed by a pool of experienced bankers and specialists, many of them with substantial experience in serving the region's high net worth individuals."

"To meet the growing demands of the high net worth clientele in the Gulf, we will continue to expand both the number of local offices as well as the talent base. This will, in turn, be complemented by the development of a robust onshore platform with strong local currency capabilities to match our global product offerings", added Mr Shah.

Industry data shows that the Middle East was the fastest growing region in the world last year in terms of wealth creation, with assets under management expanding by nearly one-third to reach USD 1 trillion. The number of high net worth individuals (those with at least USD 1 million in net assets) in the Middle East rose by one-tenth to 300,000.

The Citigroup Private Bank believes that both assets under management and the number of high net worth investors (HNWIs) in the Middle East will grow annually in double-digit percentage terms in the short to medium term.

A twenty-year veteran of Citigroup, Mr Shah was most recently Global Market Manager for The Citigroup Private Bank in the Philippines. Prior to that, he led the Mega-Wealth Team (2002-2003), serving the needs of Ultra HNWIs with a minimum net worth of USD500 million, and the Private Bank's business in Malaysia and Brunei (1999-2002).

Individuals with a minimum net worth of USD10 million form Citigroup's target market.