In the fiercely competitive and commoditised corporate and investment banking industry, banks need to demonstrate to clients how they are different to their peers.
For Mashreq’s group head of corporate and investment banking, the bank has multiple points of differentiation, which has helped it grow and develop its client base across sectors and international markets over the past five years.
“First of all, we are one of the unique organisations in the region that has a sector focus, so we cover corporate clients in specialized industry teams,” says Joel D Van Dusen, who has been group head of Mashreq’s CIB business since 2020. “These teams have been in place for decades, which brings an unmatched level of expertise in sectors such as contracting, real estate, manufacturing, energy, and retail, among other industries.”
Another key differentiating factor is that “we are probably the only UAE bank, and one of only a few in the region, that bring an ability to cover companies in multiple jurisdictions. So we cover clients across GCC, Egypt, and India, which few other banks in the region can do.”
A third factor marking Mashreq out is its digital capabilities, specifically its wholesale digital studio. This corporate and investment banking-focused unit is made up of hundreds of employees, from coders to data scientists, who are working in “squad format to help digitize client journeys, and develop digital assets that we can use in our business to help drive revenue, enhance compliance and our read of our credit risks.”
Mashreq has been expanding its CIB client base as it expands its regional footprint across GCC, Egypt and India, a development which will continue to be a key growth driver of the business.
“All these markets are growing very nicely, and a lot of the companies we work with are growing and continue to expand in those countries.,” says Van Dusen. “In addition, a lot of multinationals are moving to Dubai and the UAE in general, so that’s providing another positive backdrop for growth.”
Three other key growth pillars for the bank’s CIB business are its wholesale digital studio, and its new-to-bank corporate origination team, and its financial institutions franchise.
The studio is providing sophisticated data analysis, leading to innovation and ideas that “relationship managers are using to drive new revenue opportunities for us,” while the origination team drives new-to-bank clients, and the financial institutions coverage is expanding into new markets, including the CIS region, Vietnam, China, and South America.