HSBC rejigs senior banking roles in Middle East-memo

HSBC Holdings  has rejigged the roles of some senior bankers in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region, an internal memo showed, amid a broader revamp at the British lender's global investment banking operations.

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   Jonathan Robinson, currently head of project finance for MENA and a managing director at the bank, will take on the role as banking head for the region, replacing Paul Skelton, who will become the regional head of commercial banking.
   "Having spent more than 11 years in the region, Jonathan has strong knowledge and understanding of the key industry sectors that are growing at a fast pace across the Middle East," the memo stated.
   Both appointments are effective Jan. 1, 2014, the bank said.  
   HSBC revamped its global investment banking operations in July, separating responsibilities for products and client coverage in a bid to drive business growth.  
   The bank has gone through several management changes in the region since then. It appointed Samer Deghaili to head its equity capital markets business in the region in September, replacing Michael Bevan, who moved to Hong Kong to head coverage of Asian sovereign wealth funds.
   In July, HSBC named Mohammed al-Tuwaijri as chief executive in MENA, replacing Simon Cooper, who was appointed global head of commercial banking.
    Aziz Ata was appointed to a new role as the head of the bank's debt capital markets business in August.
   Investment banking is gradually recovering in the Middle East region after years of sluggish growth.
   Fees from arranging debt and equity offerings and advising on mergers and acquisitions in the region rose 22 percent to $535.9 million during the first nine months of the year, according to Thomson Reuters data.
   HSBC took the biggest share of fees over the period with $36 million, followed by Citigroup Inc <C.N> on $30.3 million.