Article at a glance:

Building the wholesale-banking market in the Gulf States

• Corporate- and investment-banking opportunities within the Gulf Cooperation Council’s six states look increasingly attractive. Creating a presence there during the next few years could serve as a platform for implementing a wider Middle East strategy.
• Although the risks of doing business in these areas cannot be discounted, opportunities worth investigating are being created both by a new spirit of regulatory openness and a growing demand for the skills and know-how of global players.
• International banks have two strategic options: to focus on a particular set of products or to become fully fledged wholesale bankers in the region. Either way, global financial institutions must plan carefully in order to overcome talent constraints, manage the geographic scope of their operations, and devise appropriate market entry tactics.