DUBAI 20th May 2007

HSBC Bank Middle East has hired Mohamed Kamal Metwally as Managing Director, Investment Banking.  Mohamed will be responsible for HSBC's investment banking business in the Middle East.

Mohamed joins HSBC from Standard Chartered, where he was Managing Director, Head of Corporate Finance and Advisory for the Middle East. Prior to this, he held several positions including a senior advisor to the Minister of Finance of Egypt, Head of a private investment company in the US, Head of the Middle East Investment Banking team at Merrill Lynch, and a senior role at Salomon Brothers covering the Middle East and the US and European property sectors. A native of Egypt, his career had earlier taken him to New York and London, where he spent 20 years prior to moving to Dubai in 2004.

Mohamed joins HSBC at an exciting time in the bank's Middle East operations when demand for quality investment banking services in the region is growing.

"Our Investment Banking Advisory business is taking off right across the region," said Antoine Cahuzac, CEO of Global Banking for HSBC in the Middle East. "Mohamed is joining HSBC at precisely the right time: as the region develops, grows and diversifies, corporate finance, especially cross-border activity, is moving into a new phase. HSBC, with its unique geographical footprint, is well placed to assist our valued clients with their investment banking needs to accomplish their investment and growth objectives."

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HSBC Bank Middle East Limited
HSBC is the largest and most widely represented international bank in the Middle East. HSBC Bank Middle East Limited has 34 branches throughout the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon and the Palestinian Autonomous Area, including an offshore banking unit in Bahrain.  In addition to the branch network the Bank maintains a representative office in Tehran, Iran. This extensive regional coverage is strengthened by another member of the HSBC Group HSBC Bank  Egypt SAE, and by its associated companies, The Saudi British Bank,  British Arab Commercial Bank Limited, and HSBC Saudi Arabia Limited.

For further information, contact:
Tim Harrison +971-4-509-3389,
Mobile: +971-50-657-9920,
email: tim.harrison@hsbc.com

© Press Release 2007