RBS adds to wholesale banking team in Singapore

The Royal Bank of Scotland announced yesterday the addition of several senior managers to its global banking and markets (GBM) team in Singapore to support the growth of its wholesale banking business.

The appointments include: Samir Atassi as the new head of institutional sales for Asia ex-Japan; Lee Knight as regional head of G11, delta and credit trading and short-term markets and financing trading; Arun Khurana as regional head of solutions sales and corporate risk solutions Singapore; and Sim Buck Khim and Steve Chen as senior bankers in the banking team.

"With Asia identified as one of the major growth economies for our institutional client business, the new additions to the Singapore office will serve to strengthen our GBM team and help facilitate and accelerate business expansion in the region," said Muhammad Aurangzeb, head of GBM for Southeast Asia and Pakistan.

Atassi joins RBS from Merrill Lynch in London. As head of institutional sales for Asia ex-Japan, Atassi will be part of the institutional coverage, research & strategy (ICRS) global management team. He will play a pivotal role in helping RBS become a market leader within solutions sales to financial institutions.

Sim joins RBS from SPI (Australia) Assets where he was head of treasury. In his new role, Sim will be responsible for strengthening relationships with government-linked clients, particularly in the debt capital markets area. He comes with 13 years of banking experience and has held senior positions in the financial sector, including head of the DCM and corporate coverage group for Deutsche Bank Singapore.

In addition to the new hires, Knight, currently regional head of G11, delta and credit trading, will move to Singapore and add short-term markets and financing trading to his current regional responsibilities.

Khurana, previously with RBS India, has relocated to Singapore and will play a key role in the delivery of risk management products, namely FX, rates, credit and equities and commodities to RBS's targeted clients in the region.

Chen, who is country executive and head of GBM for Vietnam, will relocate to Singapore to look after key clients within the food, agriculture and commodities sectors. He will also be charged with looking after select offshore clients.