Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: The Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia (MISA) has granted HSBC a Regional Headquarters (RHQ) license for its Capital Markets and Advisory business, reinforcing the Kingdom’s position as a regional hub for global financial services.

The new licensed entity, named HSBC Capital RHQ, will enable the global bank to further strengthen its position as the region’s leading investment bank, supporting both international clients and domestic growth. The development follows the conclusion of HSBC’s review of its investment banking business in May 2025, in which the Group announced further investment in its Middle East ECM and M&A activity, to support its existing corporate finance and financing solutions.

His Excellency Khalid Al-Falih, Minister of Investment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: “We are pleased to welcome HSBC’s regional investment banking operations to Riyadh. The Regional Headquarters license reflects the Kingdom’s commitment to fostering a competitive and business-friendly environment for global institutions, and reaffirms Saudi Arabia’s position as a leading destination for the world’s most prominent financial firms.”

Adam Bagshaw, Global Head of Capital Markets and Advisory, HSBC Holdings: “The Middle East is an important growth region for HSBC, where we are continuing to invest in areas of strength and competitive advantage to support our clients. Establishing a regional headquarter in Riyadh for our Capital Markets and Advisory business consolidates our expertise as we look to support our clients in one of the world’s fastest growing regions. The milestone marks a natural next step in our long-standing commitment to Saudi Arabia.”

The RHQ follows HSBC’s decision earlier this year to base its investment banking leadership across the UAE and Saudi Arabia, for the first time. In July, Mohammed Fannouch was appointed Co-Head of Capital Markets and Advisory (CMA), Middle East, North Africa and Turkiye (MENAT) to be based in Riyadh, alongside Samer Deghaili who has co-led HSBC’s regional investment banking business from the UAE since 2020.  With the Bank’s regional CMA leadership based from these two key financial hubs, the move positions HSBC to be even better placed to partner its clients as they grow domestically and internationally.

In addition to his current role as CEO and Board Member of HSBC Saudi Arabia, Faris AlGhannam will also serve as the CEO of HSBC Capital RHQ.

AlGhannam said: “The leadership of Saudi Arabia’s private and public markets across the region, alongside the diversity of markets’ sectors in the Kingdom, further reinforces the Kingdom’s position as a hub for investment banking services and capital markets in the Middle East. Since its establishment in 2005, HSBC Saudi Arabia has supported its customers across the Kingdom to grow domestically and overseas as the leading international investment bank in the region. With the formation of our Capital Markets and Advisory Regional HQ, we will be at the forefront in contributing to achieve the ambitious economic transformation aspirations for the Kingdom and the region.”

HSBC is the largest and leading investment bank in the Middle East; as the only international bank to offer the full suite of investment banking products across the GCC, HSBC has led the region’s ECM and DCM League Tables for four consecutive years. HSBC has acted on 90% of all jumbo IPOs in the Middle East, led half of all equity raised on Middle East capital markets since 2021 and in 2024 acted on over US$104 billion of Bond and Sukuk offerings.

From Aramco’s IPO and secondary share sale, to acting in a lead capacity on this years’ most prominent capital markets transactions including Elm’s acquisition of Thiqah Business Services, the US$245m Accelerated Book Build Offering of Rasan Information Technology Company and Derayah Financial Company US$400m IPO of on the Saudi Exchange, HSBC has been at the forefront of facilitating foreign institutional investment in the Kingdom’s financial markets. HSBC also became the first Qualified Foreign Investor in 2015, and more recently, supported the launch of Asia’s first Saudi Arabian Exchange Traded Fund in Hong Kong and cross listing to mainland China. 

HSBC has contributed to the development of Saudi Arabia’s financial sector for more than 70 years. In Saudi Arabia, HSBC is a 31% shareholder of one of the Kingdom’s largest banks Saudi Awwal Bank (SAB), and a 51% shareholder of HSBC Saudi Arabia for investment banking in the Kingdom. Taking the two entities combined, HSBC is the largest employer of Saudi nationals among the global banks. In a mark of its growth, HSBC announced its expansion into offices in Riyadh’s King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) in October 2024.

Media enquiries to:
Farah Farooq, Regional Head of Communications, MENAT, HSBC farah.farooq@hsbc.com
Lucy Stewart, Head of Communications, CIB, MENAT, HSBC lucy.stewart@hsbc.com

About HSBC in the MENAT region

HSBC is the largest and most widely represented international banking organisation in the Middle East, North Africa and Türkiye (MENAT), with a presence in nine countries across the region: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates. In Saudi Arabia, HSBC is a 31% shareholder of Saudi Awwal Bank (SAB), and a 51% shareholder of HSBC Saudi Arabia for investment banking in the Kingdom. Across MENAT, HSBC had assets of US$73bn as at 31 December 2024. www.hsbc.ae