Deutsche Bank broadens Dubai team with three appointments

Deutsche Bank has made three key appointments in its Dubai office as the German lender broadens investment banking coverage across the Middle East and seeks to capture growing capital-markets and institutional-client business.

Ilya Korobov has relocated from London to Dubai as a director of debt capital markets for Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He joined Deutsche Bank in November 2025 and will now concentrate on debt capital markets coverage across the Middle East and Africa.

Abdeslam Alaoui, managing director and head of CEEMEA capital markets at Deutsche Bank, said Korobov’s move was an important step in strengthening the bank’s regional debt capital markets franchise. Korobov previously worked at Barclays in London, advising sovereigns, financial institutions and companies across CEEMEA on bond issuance, liability management and structured financing.

The bank has also moved Adel Taleb from London to Dubai to support the expansion of its Distressed Products Group in the Middle East. Taleb, a director in the group, will lead further development of Deutsche Bank’s distressed and special-situations capabilities across the region.

Robbie Harris, managing director for the Distressed Products Group in Europe, said Deutsche Bank had been investing in special situations and distressed-credit opportunities in the Middle East for several years. The decision to reinforce its presence comes as regional capital markets deepen and create a wider pool of potential transactions.

The third appointment is Nitin Sawhney, who was named head of the Institutional Client Group for the Middle East and North Africa in September. Based in Dubai, Sawhney has more than 20 years of experience advising clients and providing financing, hedging and investment solutions across emerging markets.

Sawhney previously served as head of MENA financing at UBS and began his career at Deutsche Bank in 1996. He reports to Dimos Arhodidis, co-head of investment banking and the Institutional Client Group for CEEMEA. His appointment is intended to increase coverage of large financial institutions and institutional investors.

The personnel moves come alongside active debt issuance across Gulf and wider emerging markets. Deutsche Bank was a joint lead manager on Qatar’s $3 billion dual-tranche sovereign dollar bond issue in September and on DP World’s dual-tranche financing, comprising €750 million of six-year green notes and $750 million of 10-year conventional notes.

The bank was also a joint lead manager on Pakistan’s $3 billion dual-tranche eurobond sale, which attracted close to $6 billion of orders. Such transactions underline the importance of Dubai as a base for banks seeking to connect sovereign, corporate and institutional borrowers with international pools of capital.

Deutsche Bank’s distressed-credit push follows its acquisition last year of an $800 million portfolio of distressed loans from First Abu Dhabi Bank. The transaction provided another indication of the lender’s interest in special-situations activity as banks and investors across the region develop more sophisticated credit and capital-management strategies.

Dubai is already Deutsche Bank’s principal regional hub in the Middle East and Africa. Its Dubai International Financial Centre branch provides access to investment banking, corporate banking and other services, while the group also operates elsewhere in the UAE and across major regional markets.

The appointments fit a wider expansion undertaken by Deutsche Bank across the Gulf during 2026. Saudi Arabia granted the lender a regional headquarters licence in July, allowing Riyadh to serve as a platform for regional management, strategic decision-making and corporate functions. The bank has operated a branch in the kingdom since 2006.

Deutsche Bank also announced a Research Centre of Excellence in Qatar in July, aimed at expanding research capabilities and supporting its broader regional operations. The initiative followed other investments designed to connect the bank’s international platform with Middle Eastern clients and capital flows.