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His Excellency Dr. Omar Bin Sulaiman, Governor of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) yesterday welcomed the Board of Directors of Calyon, the corporate and investment banking division of Crédit Agricole, to the region. The visit follows the recent opening of Calyon’s DIFC office from where it aims to significantly build on its regional business, open additional offices and expand its investment banking and capital markets services across the region.
As the investment banking arm of the world’s six largest bank, Crédit Agricole, Calyon offers a comprehensive range of global investment banking services including M&A advisory, capital markets and structured finance. Calyon has enjoyed a strong presence in the Middle East and North Africa for over 50 years, with offices in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Yemen, Syria, Turkey and Egypt.
The visiting party consisted of Georges Pauget, Chief Executive Officer of Crédit Agricole S.A. and Chairman of Calyon; Marc Litzler, Chief Executive Officer of Calyon; and Albert Momdjian, CEO of the DIFC branch and Managing Director and Head of Middle East and Africa Investment Banking.
His Excellency Dr. Omar Bin Sulaiman, Governor, DIFC, commented on the visit: “As one of the top international banks with extensive experience in the Middle East and North African region, Calyon was granted a license to operate from the DIFC in June and has now opened a full service office. As such, we are delighted to host the company’s management on this momentous occasion. At the DIFC, we provide a strategic hub for the world’s most respected financial institutions and having a global bank with an active regional track record such as Calyon on board proves our success in being the region’s international financial centre . It is with great pleasure that we welcome the Board of Calyon to the DIFC today and we look forward to strengthening the excellent relationship we already have with them.”
Georges Pauget, Chief Executive Officer of Crédit Agricole S.A. and Chairman of Calyon said: "We have steadily been growing our business across this region for a number of decades. We want to use the strategic opportunity of our new base in DIFC, to further expand operations in key markets like Saudi Arabia and Egypt, in addition to extending and broadening our innovative investment banking solutions and capital market services to our existing customers here."
Mark Litzler commented: "We have a longstanding commitment to the area and an excellent track record in providing quality advice to both local and multinational clients doing business in the region and internationally. Our objective is to grow our client base through working with our customers providing dedicated independent counsel and assist them with all their corporate and investment banking needs in this rapidly growing economic environment. We will achieve this through an extended service offering ranging from M&A advice and execution, equity capital markets products and services, to structured and project financing."
Calyon offers investment banking, including M&A advisory, capital markets, structured finance and acquisition finance and loan syndication services to corporates, financial institutions, governments and semi government organizations.
When asked about the DIFC branch Albert Momdijan added: "We are an organization that is firmly rooted in the Middle East and Africa region and our vision is to continue to build on our existing solid foundations and regional expertise, to confirm our reputation as one of the most trusted investment banking groups in the region. Our new office in the economic hub of the area ensures we are in an excellent position to achieve our ambitious goals and objectives in the region."
