Senior Barclays Banker in Dubai Is Said to Leave After a Decade

(Bloomberg) -- Hazem Shish, Barclays Plc's head of financial institutions banking for the Middle East, Turkey and Africa, is leaving after more than a decade with the British lender, people familiar with the matter said.

Shish, who was based in Dubai, is departing to set up his own business venture, the people said, asking not to be identified as the matter is private. The banker plans to stay on until at least the end of the year to help with the transition, one of the people said.

He was involved in some of the bank's largest deals in the financial sector and also worked on some transactions involving sovereign wealth funds Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Mubadala Investment Co., the people said. A representative for Barclays declined to comment.

Deal activity in the Middle East banking sector has picked up in recent years, with the region witnessing some of the world's largest transactions in the financial industry. Saudi Arabia's National Commercial Bank agreed on a $15.6 billion acquisition of Samba Financial Group last year to create one of the biggest lenders in the region.

Qatar's Masraf Al Rayan QSC and Al Khalij Commercial Bank PQSC also agreed to combine earlier this year. Barclays was one of the main advisers in the three-way combination of Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC, Union National Bank PJSC and Al Hilal Bank in 2019.

Shish joined Barclays in 2010 and previously worked at Bank of America Corp., according to his LinkedIn profile. His departure follows the exit in April of another senior emerging markets banker, David Nataf, who was most recently the banking head for central and eastern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.