Swiss bank Edmond de Rothschild sets up MENA hub in Dubai’s DIFC

Swiss bank Edmond de Rothschild sets up MENA hub in Dubai’s DIFC

Swiss-based private banking giant Edmond de Rothschild Group is opening its MENA hub in Dubai's DIFC today as part of efforts to significantly grow its presence and client base in the region.

Dubai joins Switzerland, Monaco and Luxembourg in Edmond de Rothschild's network of international private wealth hubs.

The bank, founded in 1953, has been covering the region for years from Switzerland, but it decided to establish its presence in the DIFC to ensure proximity to its clients and to leverage the expertise it has historically built up out of its headquarters, according to Saman Habibian, Global Market Leader - Middle East and Africa, Edmond de Rothschild.

The bank secured a Category 4 advisory licence from the DIFC and has hired eight private bankers who will be working from its offices in the ICD Brookfield Place.

"Dubai and the Middle East has been an important market for Edmond de Rothschild. Over the last couple of years Dubai continued to position itself as key hub for the entire region and for so many different sectors. It’s just the right time for us to be based here now," Habibian told Zawya.

The private banking business will be focused on clients with investable assets of more than $5