Last checked at 25 Oct 2016 08:31
EFG Hermes to Expand into the United States with Permanent New York Office
Leading financial services corporation in the Middle East and North Africa hires Wall Street veteran to lead its expansion in North America; new office will serve US clients seeking exposure to MENA and frontier markets.
New York, 25 October 2016
EFG Hermes, the leading financial services corporation in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, is seeking regulatory approval to open a permanent, full-service office in New York, NY, to serve institutional clients in the United States.
The company has engaged Wall Street veteran Karim Baghdady as its chief executive officer of EFG Hermes USA. The expansion to better serve US-based clients comes as EFG Hermes continues to grow its footprint in frontier and other high-potential markets worldwide.
"We're very excited to be building a permanent presence in the heart of the global financial community," said EFG Hermes Group Chief Executive Officer Karim Awad. "We will use the New York office to better serve - and grow - our extensive roster of existing brokerage clients through our on-the-ground presence in eight regional markets. It will also serve as a base for the potential growth of our asset management business across the United States."
EFG Hermes covers eight MENA markets, including Saudi Arabia, which drew roughly USD 70 billion in demand for its first international bond of USD 17.5 billion, an emerging markets record offering. The firm is also finalizing its entry into the Pakistani market, the best performing Asian market YTD, which entails availing frontier market opportunities to its North American investors.
"In this sense, KSA is following a path similar to the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, both of which continue to develop their capital markets and improve access for foreign investors following their upgrade to MSCI emerging market status. With these regional developments, prospects synthesize and our deep on the ground knowledge of our regional market context and ability to identify compelling opportunities leave us very well-placed to advise North American investors looking closely at MENA and frontier markets."
Commenting on Karim Baghdady's hiring, EFG Hermes Co-Head of Securities Brokerage Mohamed Ebeid said, "Karim coming on board to lead this effort underscores our ability to expand by both growing our talent in-house while selectively bringing on board outstanding professionals. He is a world-class financial veteran with over a decade of Wall Street experience. Karim brings EFG Hermes USA deep insight into how US-based investors view MENA and frontier markets - and personal familiarity with what makes these markets tick."
Baghdady, who joined EFG Hermes on September 1, was most recently the Director of International Sales at CI Capital, where he led that firm's presence in North America.
EFG Hermes and New York-based Auerbach Grayson mutually agreed to end their longstanding relationship with immediate effect. EFG Hermes USA has submitted an application to register as a broker-dealer before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and is in the process of becoming a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. While EFG Hermes pursues FINRA registration, the firm will continue to serve its North American client base, within full compliance of FINRA and SEC regulations, through a temporary chaperone agreement with 'Brasil Plural Securities LLC'.
-Ends-