UAE Lender NBAD Names Former Barclays Veteran As Retail Banking Head

National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), the largest lender in the United Arab Emirates, has appointed a veteran former Barclays banker to run its consumer banking business, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Sunday.

Suvrat Saigal, previously head of consumer banking at Barclays in India, takes over from George Beatty, who resigned in January as NBAD’s general manager of consumer and elite banking.

An NBAD spokesperson was not immediately available for comment when contacted by Reuters.

His hiring is the latest in a series of appointments of staff with Asia expertise made by NBAD since the arrival of Alex Thursby as group chief executive in April 2013.

Thursby, a former banker with Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), is targeting growth across eight banking hubs in Abu Dhabi, Mumbai, Lagos, Singapore, Hong Kong, London, Paris and Washington DC.

In September, it appointed Susan Yuen, another former ANZ executive, to head its Asia business.

Saigal joined Barclays in India in 2009 from Citigroup, where he worked for 19 years in countries including India, Singapore, Japan, Australia and the United States, according to a Barclays statement at the time.

Saigal’s title at NBAD will be head of global retail banking, the source familiar with the matter said.