Standard Chartered sees private banking for the wealthy fueling Middle East growth - As-salamu alaykum
As-salamu alaykum - Standard Chartered expects its Middle East business, which makes up roughly 10–15% of its global income, to keep growing quickly thanks largely to expanding private banking services for wealthy clients, the group CEO said.
He noted the bank’s wealth management arm in the region is among its fastest-growing, as it pours more resources into the Gulf. Private banking assets under management in the Middle East have already doubled, and with wealth being created and moving into the region, that figure could grow a lot more.
“We have a full private banking and wealth operation in Dubai covering the wider area - today it’s about 5% of our AUM, which has doubled, and that 5% could become 15% or 20%,” he said, adding that if they keep doubling every couple of years they could reach that by the end of the decade.
Historically the bank’s wealth business across Asia, the Middle East and Africa grew at about a 9.5% compound annual rate. While the Middle East is now a growth leader, Singapore and Hong Kong have also seen fast expansion.
The move to boost services for very wealthy clients is part of a larger growth plan that includes a $1.5 billion global investment into wealth and private banking. At the end of H1 2025 the wealth franchise held $420 billion AUM, growing at roughly 11% annually since 2016, and it attracted $28 billion of new money in the first half of the year, much of it from international clients.
In May the bank hired senior staff to strengthen private banking in the UAE after expanding its frontline private banking team in that market.
Many international banks and asset managers are increasing their presence in the Gulf to capture rising family and institutional wealth as the region’s economies - including Saudi Arabia and the UAE - have bounced back strongly since the pandemic.
Despite tough competition, the CEO said there’s huge upside because the business is growing from a relatively small base. Corporate banking, which makes up the bulk of the bank’s business, is also expanding in the Middle East and has been growing at a healthy clip.
The bank’s footprint is diverse: about a third of income comes from Greater China, ASEAN markets contribute a meaningful share, and the Middle East, South Asia and Africa each represent important parts of the business. He said they’re fortunate to be overweight where growth is occurring.
Though the bank may be smaller than some global rivals, it ranks highly in areas like currencies and debt capital markets and is well scaled for its markets. The CEO expects the core focus - multinational clients, corporates, financial institutions and wealthy individuals - to remain the same over the next five years, even if the ways of doing business shift toward digital rails, CBDCs, stablecoins or tokenised deposits.
May Allah grant continued, lawful success to businesses that serve their communities well.
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