HSBC bolsters Middle East investment banking team with senior hires, memo shows

By Shamsuddin Mohd and Federico Maccioni

July 6 (Reuters) - HSBC has appointed three senior bankers to its Capital Markets and Advisory team in Saudi Arabia, as the lender continues to strengthen its franchise in the Gulf and wider Middle East and Turkey region, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters on Monday.

Pierre Fayad, previously with Goldman Sachs, has joined as Mergers and Acquisitions Director and will work with HSBC's regional M&A leadership team on originating and executing major transactions.

Chris Johannson has joined from HSBC Continental Europe as a director in the Equity Capital Markets (ECM) team, while Andrew Pedder has relocated from Singapore to head the bank's Leveraged and Acquisition Finance (LAF) business in Saudi Arabia.

The appointments, which are subject to regulatory approval, are intended to strengthen the bank's origination and execution capabilities for corporate, sovereign and financial institution clients across the region.

The moves come as HSBC presses ahead with a broader strategic push in the Gulf, which it has identified as a key growth market benefiting from increasing cross-border investment, dealmaking and capital flows between the Middle East and Asia.

While HSBC has been scaling back parts of its global operations as part of a restructuring led by Chief Executive Georges Elhedery, the bank has sought to sharpen its focus on advisory and equity capital markets businesses in Asia and the Middle East.

A little over a week into the Iran war, Elhedery said HSBC remained confident about the Gulf states' economic prospects and long-term growth trajectory, highlighting the region's importance to the bank's strategy.

(Reporting by Shamsuddin Mohd; Editing by Susan Fenton)