HSBC loses two DCM heads, but it’s not scaling back. Plus: Talabat taps chief international officer

Two members of HSBC’s debt capital markets team move to Wall Street banks: HSBC’s head of debt capital markets for the Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa (CEEMEA) region, Khaled Darwish, has moved to Bank of America, while head of debt capital markets for the Middle East and North Africa left to join Goldman Sachs in Dubai, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the matter.

Darwish will be taking on the role of head of Middle East and North Africa corporate banking, the business news information service said.

HSBC stands firm on its commitment to the region: “We’re committed to attracting and retaining talent as part of HSBC’s high-performance culture and are proud of the progress of our DCM franchise in the Middle East,” a spokesperson from the bank told EnterpriseAM UAE, while noting that the bank does not comment on individuals.

The lender has deep presence across the region, including in Riyadh, and has said it will double down on the Middle East even as it pulls away from other markets in the Americas and ⁠Europe.

Meanwhile, online delivery platform Talabat tapped Bader Al Ghanim (LinkedIn) as its first chief international officer, with the role of overseeing managing directors at eight different markets and “driving consistent execution,” according to a statement. Al Ghanim will also continue to oversee the Kuwait market, for which he has been managing director for three years, during the transition.