Wajahat Husain giving a speech during the annual dinner at Sharq Village and Spa. (Shaival Dalal)
Doha: United Bank Limited (UBL) has taken significant steps to expand its reach and support to local businesses in Qatar in recent years, according to the bank’s Group Executive.
Wajahat Husain, who is also the Head of International UBL, said that the bank is focused to support local businesses in the county.
“Our activation over the past eight to nine years has been quite significant compared to what we had been doing here since the 70s,” Husain said, adding that the bank has the privilege of being one of the pioneers of international banking in the Middle East and started its operations in Qatar in 1970.
He was speaking at UBL’s annual corporate dinner hosted at Sharq Village. The event was attended by senior bank officials, clients and other dignitaries.
Husain said that after the privatization of UBL in 2002, there was a renewed focus on the operations of the bank in Qatar.
In 2008, the UBL Msheireb branch was relocated to the Doha Corniche and the same year, the bank opened its second branch in Salwa. Finally, in 2012, the bank opened its third branch in the West Bay area.
“Put together, it has increased the visibility and reach of the bank. Especially after privatization, we have been supporting the economy in terms of providing contractor finance, infrastructure projects and trade finance activities.”
The bank has more than 1,300 branches and offices across 11 countries and four continents. Husain added that the bank has an asset base of approximately $10bn, a global workforce of 17, 700 and a client base of over five million people.
“UBL Qatar feels privileged and honoured to be serving a number of top names in Qatar, and offering them a complete array of commercial banking products under wholesale and retail banking. Its main forte has been international trade, contract, and project financing, strong correspondent banking relationships and product expertise.”
Husain noted that whichever country the bank operates in, it owes it to the citizens to offer them careers. “UBL Qatar has always focused on inducting local talent, and provide them with the relevant training and exposure to groom for a career in banking. We would like to be much more embracing in terms of inducting young promising talent of Qataris.”
The Peninsula
