Citigroup Private Bank takes top honours as the best in the Middle East region

The prestigious award confirms Citigroup Private Bank's position as the leading and most respected wealth manager in the fast-growing Middle East market.

"We are delighted to have been ranked as the number one Private Bank in the Middle East. This award is a testimony to our success in strengthening our regional presence. The outcome was particularly pleasing because the acknowledgement came from our peers,"

said Mr. Deepak Sharma, Chief Executive Officer, Citigroup Global Wealth Management Asia Pacific and Middle East.

The Euromoney private banking awards were judged on scores formed from a weighted combination of survey self-responses (thirty percent) and peer nominations (seventy percent).

Responding private banks described themselves and their businesses in areas such as assets under management, profitability, ratio of clients to relationship managers, and services offered, among other factors.

For the peer nomination aspect, respondents were asked to nominate and rank whom they consider to be the top three in the respective categories, excluding themselves.

Private Investment Banking

Many high net worth individuals in the Middle East region, especially those classified as 'ultra high net worth' (with more than USD 50 million in assets), are today demanding a whole new approach in how private banks deal with them.

Mr. Sharma said:

" Many of our clients are entrepreneurs who have built up successful, multi-million dollar businesses and are seeking more opportunities to grow their business as well as personal wealth. They expect a private bank to provide holistic wealth management capabilities but increasingly with investment banking capabilities."

"Today, we emphasise our frontline proficiency in mergers and acquisition advisory, fund raising opportunities in the capital markets, and various forms of specialised corporate financing in addition to wealth management skills," he added.

"Being part of a global organisation with offices in more than a hundred countries around the world, we have the experience and the ability to manage our clients' wealth management needs in the context of their business and personal wealth, " he said.

Onshore Presence

"Our increased investment in building local offices and capabilities in recent times have been a major reason for our unprecedented success in the Euromoney rankings," said Mr. Akbar Shah, Managing Director and Middle East Region Head, Citigroup Private Bank.

"We have been investing significantly, and will continue to do so in expanding our local capabilities. Our strategy of developing a robust onshore private banking platform to complement Citigroup's global product offering will allow us to meet the increasingly complex needs of our Middle East clients and to capture a larger slice of the emerging wealth management market in the region."

"Middle East clients are more actively participating in investment opportunities at home or around the region as the local markets have been providing consistently strong returns, especially in the last three years (2002-2005)."

"Our strategy to be where our clients need us is reaping rewards for both our clients and us," said Mr. Shah.

The Citigroup Private Bank currently has offices in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain. They 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.

Citigroup is among the largest wealth manager in the Asia Pacific and Middle East region with more than US$85 billion in assets under management from more than 200,000 clients.

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