JP Morgan, which has been serving clients in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for over three quarters of a century, on Sunday night celebrated the official opening of its office in Riyadh, further enhancing the reach and capabilities of its successful investment banking franchise in the Kingdom. At the opening event which was attended by over 170 of JP Morgan's clients in the region, Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase, said: “We are delighted to be celebrating JP Morgan's long standing history of serving clients in Saudi Arabia, which dates back to the 1930s. We are currently one of only a handful of global banks with a banking and securities license in the Kingdom and our business has grown organically over many years.” Ghassan Abdul Karim, CEO of the Middle East and North Africa at JP Morgan, said: “We will continue to invest in Saudi Arabia and the wider region where we anticipate significant growth opportunities, and remain commited to offering our clients world-class investment banking services.” Mohammad Al-Tuwaijri, senior country officer for JP Morgan in Saudi Arabia and head of its subsidiary in Riyadh , said: “We have a tremendous heritage in Saudi Arabia and our strong local presence combined with our international product and industry expertise are essential to our client offering.” JP Morgan's relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia dates back to the forging of the Saudi Kingdom in the early 1930s. Its heritage firm, Morgan Guaranty enjoyed access to the Middle East that no other firm could replicate and was instrumental in the creation of Aramco's financial transactions. It was also the only bank to travel regularly to Saudi Arabia after World War II, and was also closely involved in the creation of Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) in the 1950s and helped reform Saudi finance. In June 2004, JP Morgan was one of three institutions to receive the first-ever banking licenses issued to global banks from Saudi Arabia, reflecting the firm's long-term activity in the country. Since then, the firm has formed a local subsidiary and secured a license from the CMA to conduct securities business in the Kingdom. The new Riyadh office, based in Al-Faisaliah Tower, King Fahd Road, is led by Al-Tuwaijri, and head of the subsidiary and Faisal Ansari, who is branch manager. Faisal, who joined the firm in March from The Saudi British Bank in Riyadh and who has over 15 years of financial services experience, is also responsible for spearheading and coordinating any Islamic banking activity for JP Morgan's Treasury & Securities Services business. JP Morgan's investment banking team in Riyadh, supported by industry and product specialists based in London, provides Saudi-based clients with investment banking solutions across the board, including debt and equity capital markets, mergers and acquisitions and global market solutions. It has consistently been involved in some of the most high profile transactions in Saudi Arabia and is recognized as a trusted advisor in the local financial community. Over the years, JP Morgan has advised on a number of landmark transactions in the Kingdom including Riyadh Bank's $500 million inaugural Eurobond issue and Saudi Aramco's flagship $4 billion revolving credit facility.
