Ranjit Khanna has been appointed Global Market Head of Middle East and Chief Executive of Bank of Singapore's Dubai International Financial Centre branch, effective April 3, 2023, subject to regulatory approval. Khanna joins the Singapore-headquartered private bank from Union Bancaire Privée, where he served as Chief Executive of its Singapore office and Head of Private Banking for South Asia.
Khanna will be a member of Bank of Singapore's management committee, reporting to Chief Executive Officer Jason Moo. He succeeds Alexandre Lotfi, who remains the bank's Global Chief Risk Officer and is returning to Singapore. In a parallel move, Vikram Malhotra, who previously oversaw the DIFC Branch's business growth from Singapore, will now focus on expanding Bank of Singapore's coverage of Non-Resident Indian clients across Asia as Global Market Head of South Asia. Moo said in a statement that the bank was expanding its commitment to the Middle East region and that "having spent 13 years in Dubai, Ranjit has built up a strong local network and a deep understanding of the local business environment and regulatory landscape."
Khanna brings more than 25 years of banking experience across wealth management and investment services. Before joining UBP in 2016, he spent approximately six years at Coutts as Managing Director and Head of Southeast Asia, the Middle East and global Non-Resident Indian business. Prior to that, he served as Managing Director of Private Banking at Bank Sarasin Alpen in Dubai, where he led the establishment of an onshore private bank in India and developed the Gulf business. He spent 15 years at Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore and Dubai in various senior roles across wealth management, and five years at American Express Bank in New York. Khanna holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Montclair State University in New Jersey and completed the Asian Financial Leaders Programme in 2018.
Bank of Singapore is the private banking subsidiary of OCBC, Southeast Asia's second largest bank by assets. Headquartered in Singapore, the bank serves high-net-worth individuals and wealthy families across Southeast Asia, Greater China, India and other international markets. The bank's DIFC branch has grown to over 100 staff members, ranking it among the largest private banks operating in the financial centre. In recent years, Bank of Singapore has been recognized as the best Asia-based private bank active in the Middle East and North Africa by WealthBriefing for three consecutive years from 2020 to 2022.
The appointment reflects Bank of Singapore's stated strategy of building two separate regional hubs in DIFC and Singapore to drive growth in the Middle East and South Asia respectively. The decision comes as the Middle East and Africa are positioned to experience the largest wealth growth among global regions, according to the Boston Consulting Group's Global Wealth Report 2022. By installing a management committee member based in DIFC with full oversight of the branch's functions, the bank signals its intention to deepen its presence in a region where wealth has been expanding at roughly 8 percent annually. Khanna's Dubai experience and relationships in the Middle East position him to execute this expansion, while his prior leadership in managing NRI and South Asia client segments across multiple institutions aligns with the bank's identified growth markets.
