BofA’s Middle East Equities Head to Depart After Two Decades - Bloomberg

BofA’s Middle East Equities Head to Depart After Two Decades - Bloomberg

Talal Ghandour, one of Bank of America Corp.’s longest-serving senior executives in the Middle East, is leaving the U.S. firm after 22 years.

Ghandour, who was a Dubai-based managing director, plans to join his family business, according to an internal memo seen by Bloomberg News. He most recently led the bank’s equities unit in the Middle East and North Africa, where he helped build one of the biggest regional franchises of any Wall Street firm.

Bank of America has appointed Ali Hobballah to assume overall responsibility for the MENA equities business after the departure, according to the memo. He will also continue to head trading and risk. Deepak Abraham will oversee equity distribution in the region, while Samer Sbeih will lead the MENA cash equity sales effort, reporting to Abraham, the memo shows.

A representative for Bank of America confirmed the contents of the memo.

Bank of America has made some changes to its leadership team in recent months as it seeks to further expand in the oil-rich region. It appointed Andree Chakhtoura to head investment banking in the Middle East and North Africa, Bloomberg News reported in March. Wadih Boueiz, the bank’s global head of sovereign wealth funds and pension investors, also left last year.