Barclays has brought its wealth, asset management and capital markets operations in the Middle East under the control of a new chief executive as it builds on its strong ties with sovereign wealth funds in the region, while pure investment banks struggle to keep their teams busy due to the slump in dealflow.
The UK bank's operations across the region will now be co-ordinated by John Vitalo, a former US marine and a emerging market specialist, as chief executive of investment banking and investment management for the Middle East.