BofA Merrill's Jonathan Moulds: the UAE's "measured upside"

Jonathan Moulds was made president of Europe, Middle East, Latin America and Canada earlier this year at the newly merged Bank of America Merrill Lynch. He came to the merged company from Bank of America, where he had overseen banking operations outside the US.

It is a big new role for Mr Moulds during an era of unprecedented shake-ups at some of the world's oldest and richest banking firms. As many of them struggle amid the rubble of the financial crisis, Mr Moulds says his company maintains a strong balance sheet and plans to expand its reach in the Middle East, bucking a trend in which many of his peers are scaling back and moving out.

In an exclusive interview yesterday during his first visit to the region in his new role, Mr Moulds discussed the merger, the bank's strategy in the region, his perspective on financial derivatives and his outlook for the UAE's economy, which he said had a "measured upside".

It has been a tumultuous year for banks and investment firms across the globe. Lehman Brothers failed last September, and Bank of America bought Merrill Lynch for about $50 billion when Merrill was on the brink of collapse, also in September. You came to the merged company from Bank of America. How has the merger affected your business so far?

Given what has happened over the economy in the past few years, it has certainly been a challenging environment. [But the merger] gave a tremendous boost to our business, particularly internationally. It's a significantly larger platform, and it's a platform that I think can compete with all the key players across the international space.

Did Bank of America even have a presence in the Gulf or the Middle East before the merger?

Bank of America prior to the merger had a very targeted strategy, and the resources meant the number of clients covered was obviously smaller. It's not that Bank of America did not do anything in that area, however. Our strategy was targeted in the Gulf.

What businesses are you concentrating on in the Middle East? Where do you see the most room for expansion and growth?

We have a strong wealth management presence in a number of places. I think if you look at our advisory business, M&A is strong and trading in equity is very strong. Combine that with an organisation that has a strong balance sheet and a strong presence on the ground and I think we can make a big impact here. We already are.

You oversee Bank of America Merrill Lynch's operations across a wide swath of the globe - your mandate includes Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and Canada. How much of a focus is the Middle East - and particularly the UAE - within those geographical regions?

I do think that it is a focus. I think we clearly have a strong presence in a number of areas and we will continue to add talent.

Do you see the bank picking up business rapidly in the region?

We will do it selectively. We have to recognise that it's a region where some parts of the market - real estate, for example - are stressed. But clients want access to financial solutions to raise capital, to provide advice on large cross-border mergers. We're in a very good position. As an organisation that has come through this is pretty good shape, a number of lessons have been learned. If we are in strong financial standing, it gives us opportunities.

What is your outlook for the UAE's economy?

There has been significant progress on infrastructure since I was last here. There is a transparent financial system, and a regulator that I think in many sectors is progressive. There is a measured upside, but it will take time.

Mergers and acquisitions naturally take place during times of economic turmoil. But what about other traditional investment banking activities, like advising on IPOs? Do you see that coming back any time soon?

IPOs in the region are going to take time to come back. We're all aware of that.

You have a background in derivatives [Mr Moulds was chairman of the International Swaps and Derivatives Association from 2004 to 2008]. Many people have said that these complex instruments are partly to blame for recent market volatility and economic turmoil. Speculation in oil futures, a form of derivative that determines global oil prices, has been a particularly touchy subject. Has any of this changed your mind on the usefulness of derivatives? Are they fundamentally dangerous?

I think derivatives play a very important role in terms of how you mitigate risk. But they can also be concentrators of risk. I'm an advocate of the use of derivatives, but I think it's important to have regulation and make steps in the right direction to make the infrastructure [of the markets] more efficient.

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Kumulus Water

Started: 2021

Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid

Based: Tunisia

Sector: Water technology

Number of staff: 22

Investment raised: $4 million

At a glance

Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year

Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month

Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30

Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse

Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth

Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances

The specs

Price: From Dh529,000

Engine: 5-litre V8

Transmission: Eight-speed auto

Power: 520hp

Torque: 625Nm

Fuel economy, combined: 12.8L/100km

The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young

The White Lotus: Season three

Creator: Mike White

Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell

Rating: 4.5/5

Our commentary on Brexit

Alistair Burt: Despite Brexit, Britain can remain a world power
Sam Williams: Departure is influenced by its sense of place

Skewed figures

In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.

Real estate tokenisation project

Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

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Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.

The specs

Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six

Power: 510hp at 9,000rpm

Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm

Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual

Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km

On sale: Available to order now

Price: From Dh801,800

Paris Can Wait
Dir: Eleanor Coppola
Starring: Alec Baldwin, Diane Lane, Arnaud Viard
Two stars

COMPANY%20PROFILE

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Cinco in numbers

Dh3.7 million

The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown

46

The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.

1,000

The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]

50

How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday

3,000

The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.

1.1 million

The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.

In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe

Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010

Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille

Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm

Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year

Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”

Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners

TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013

The smuggler

Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.

Khouli conviction

Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.

For sale

A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.

- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico

- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000

- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950