Barclays has opened an office in Riyadh’s King Abdullah Financial District and appointed Majed Al Hassoun to lead its Saudi investment banking operations, expanding its regulated presence in the kingdom.The British bank announced the opening on Monday, following authorisation from Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority to undertake investment banking and global markets activities. The office will serve corporate, government and institutional clients seeking advisory, financing and access to international capital markets.
Al Hassoun has been named chief executive and head of investment banking at Barclays Capital Saudi. Based in Riyadh, he will oversee the local entity, develop its investment banking and markets operations and act as the bank’s senior representative in dealings with regulators and other stakeholders.
He will report to Khaled El Dabag, chief executive of Barclays’ regional headquarters and co-chief executive and head of investment banking for the Middle East. El Dabag jointly leads the bank’s wider Middle East franchise with Walid Mezher.
Al Hassoun previously served as chief executive of State Street Saudi Arabia. His approximately 20 years of financial services experience in the kingdom include leading investment banking operations at Citigroup and Saudi Fransi Capital, providing experience across international banking and the domestic market.
Barclays group chief executive C. S. Venkatakrishnan said the Riyadh office would improve the bank’s ability to serve Saudi clients through its international operations. He described investment in regional talent as an important element of the group’s expansion across Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East.
The opening follows two separate regulatory steps. Barclays secured a regional headquarters licence in 2025 and subsequently obtained the securities authorisations needed for its local investment banking business. Those approvals underpin the bank’s plan to conduct regulated activities through a Saudi entity rather than relying exclusively on operations elsewhere in the region.
Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority announced on 1 November that Barclays Capital Saudi had completed the requirements to commence arranging and advising activities. The underlying authorisation was dated 26 October 2025. The regulator’s records also identified dealing activities within the company’s licensed scope, although those operations had not commenced at the time of its update.
The distinction is important because a licence to undertake a category of financial activity does not necessarily mean that every authorised service has begun operating. Barclays has described the Riyadh office as a platform for developing both investment banking and global markets business, without disclosing revenue or staffing targets for the Saudi operation.
The bank has also appointed Abdulaziz Abdulrahman A. Alshenaifi as head of markets and Abdullah AlToukhi as head of institutional coverage. Susheel Jain becomes chief financial officer, while Abdulrahman Alanazi takes responsibility for compliance and serves as money laundering reporting officer.
At board level, Talal AlKhereiji has joined as an independent non-executive director alongside Mohammed Al Sarhan, the independent non-executive chairman of Barclays’ Saudi franchise. The appointments establish local leadership across client coverage, financial management, regulatory compliance and governance as the bank builds its activities.
Al Hassoun said he intended to draw on Barclays’ established Middle East operations to develop relationships with Saudi clients and stakeholders. The bank offers advisory, financing, capital markets and wealth management services across the region through its investment banking, markets and private banking businesses.
The expansion comes as Saudi Arabia seeks to deepen its domestic capital markets under Vision 2030, with investment banks competing for mandates involving companies, government-linked organisations and institutional investors. Barclays identifies the kingdom as a priority within its regional strategy, alongside its operations in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
The Riyadh opening also marks a return to a locally regulated Saudi securities business. The Capital Market Authority approved the cancellation of the authorisation held by an earlier Barclays subsidiary in 2014. The new entity operates under its own regulatory approvals and leadership arrangements.
Barclays has not announced the financial cost of establishing the office or the number of employees assigned to it. Its announcement instead concentrated on regulatory readiness, the management appointments and the services it intends to provide to clients in Saudi Arabia.
The office is located in Building 4.09 of King Abdullah Financial District. Barclays had scheduled an opening reception for 25 October but postponed that event, citing logistical challenges in the district and office closures. The bank said a new date for the reception would be communicated later.
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