Natixis Corporate and Investment Banking expects its Middle East and Asia business to keep growing at double-digit rates this year and next, and plans to hire across the region. Bruno Le Saint, the bank’s chief executive for Asia Pacific and the Middle East, said growth should reach at least 10 per cent next year, despite the Iran war.
The Paris-based unit of Groupe BPCE, the eurozone’s fourth-largest banking group, has grown at that pace for the past five years. Le Saint said the bank hopes to reach close to 20 per cent growth within two to four years, depending on how other parts of the business perform. The combined Asia and Middle East platform, created at the start of last year, accounts for more than 15 per cent of Natixis CIB’s business, and the bank wants that share to reach 20 per cent or more.
The UAE and Saudi Arabia are the focus for new staff. Natixis CIB has 80 people at the Dubai International Financial Centre and plans to add staff and capabilities. In the kingdom it operates through Natixis Saudi Arabia Investment Company. “We still think that we are underinvested in Saudi Arabia,” Le Saint said, adding that Vision 2030 suits the bank’s expertise in telecoms, energy, infrastructure, metals and mining. Expansion in Turkey is being explored, and the bank serves clients in Oman and Turkey and covers Central Asia from Dubai.
The plans come against a difficult backdrop. The war began on February 28, and while all-out hostilities have paused since early April, attempts at a permanent deal have failed. The World Bank expects Gulf economies to contract by an average of 4.3 per cent this year. Regional debt capital market volumes have fallen by about 10 per cent, but Le Saint called the market relatively resilient and said borrowers are waiting because rates are high. “I don’t think that our clients are in any stress to find liquidity,” he said.
Le Saint also noted that Chinese banks are returning to the region and investing heavily, partly to support energy flows to China. Natixis CIB, which is marking its 20th anniversary, offers structured financing, project funding, acquisition finance, trade finance, advisory, investment banking and capital markets services, with a focus on infrastructure, energy, transport, metals and mining, technology and aviation. He acknowledged that his outlook could change if the conflict runs for another two to three years. For now, the bank is planning on continued demand from clients in the Gulf.
