Bank of Singapore (BoS) has appointed Ranjit Khanna as its global market head of the Middle East and chief executive of its Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) branch.
Khanna will assume the role with effect from April 3, subject to regulatory approval. He will also become a member of the bank’s management committee and will report to BoS’s CEO Jason Moo.
Khanna, who comes with over 25 years of experience in leadership roles in leading international banks, was most recently the chief executive of Union Bancaire Privée’s Singapore office. He was also its head of private banking for South Asia, leading a team of close to 200 employees across Singapore and Dubai.
With his appointment, Khanna will succeed Alexandre Lotfi as the chief executive of the DIFC branch. Lotfi is also BoS’s global chief risk officer; he will return to Singapore to continue serving in this role.
Vikram Malhotra, who previously oversaw the business growth of the DIFC branch from Singapore, will now focus on expanding BoS’s coverage of the non-resident Indian segment across Asia, as global market head of South Asia.
According to BoS, its decision to appoint a management committee member based in the Dubai branch comes at a time when the Middle East and Africa is set to see the biggest wealth growth among the world’s regions, according to the Boston Consulting Group’s Global Wealth Report 2022.
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BoS, which has over 100 staff in its Dubai branch, is among the largest private banks there.
“We warmly welcome Ranjit to the Bank of Singapore family. The Middle East has always been an integral market for us, one in which we have invested significantly by hiring local talent and enhancing technology and infrastructure to continuously improve our proposition for clients in the region,” says Moo.
“With two separate hubs in DIFC and Singapore now driving our Global South Asia and Middle East business, led by Ranjit and Vikram respectively, this underpins the importance of the region to the Bank, and reinforces our commitment to grow the business by ensuring strong leadership on the ground. Having spent 13 years in Dubai, Ranjit has built up a strong local network and a deep understanding of the local business environment and regulatory landscape. I am confident that his wealth of experience in other leading financial hubs such as New York and Singapore will uplift our growing Middle East business further,” he adds.
