Arshad Ghafur is Bank of America’s President for the Middle East & North Africa. He is responsible for the firm’s MENA operations and drives the regional strategy across capital markets, corporate and investment banking, payment services, and research. He is on the Board of Merrill Lynch KSA and serves on Bank of America’s EMEA Sustainability Strategic Council.
Under Arshad’s leadership, Bank of America has been one of the most active global banks in the Middle East, evidenced by strategic transactions for clients such as Mubadala, ADNOC, ADIA, ADQ, Pure Health, Emirates, ICD, Dubai Holding, Aramco, the PIF and the QIA.
Bank of America has supported strategic investment activity for key clients across the region and has consistently been ranked the market leading Equities, FICC, and Research platform in MENA (Top 3 ranked across the board in MENA).
Arshad has lived in the UAE for over 30 years and serves as an advisor to various regional government officials and entities as a member of working groups contributing towards national development. He was appointed, by Royal Decree from H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Ruler of Dubai) to the Higher Board of the Dubai International Financial Centre and the Board of Directors of the Dubai International Chamber. He also sits on the Board of Directors of the U.S-U.A.E. Business Council which is Co-Chaired by H.E. Waleed Al Mokarrab Al Muhairi (Deputy Group CEO of Mubadala Investment Company).
Prior to joining Bank of America in 2012, Arshad spent 15 years at Lehman Brothers/Nomura where he was Head of Investment Banking for the Middle East & Africa and CEO of NomuraQ.
Arshad is a strong proponent of literacy and education. He supports a number of initiatives in developing countries sponsored by NGOs and charitable foundations such as Education for Employment (EFE) where Bank of America was recently recognised as a Strategic Partner and Arab Excellence. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of Injaz Al-Arab, a non-profit organisation that promotes education and training in the Middle East and Africa under three pillars: workforce readiness, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship. He is also a collector of South Asian Art and has been a proponent of Bank of America’s support of art & culture in the Middle East.
