CAPITAL CATALYST

America’s largest bank, J.P. Morgan, is deepening its MENA footprint under Khaled Hobballah, Senior Country Officer for MENA and Head of Markets for MENA Tirkiye. As the region gains strategic weight, Hobballah is shaping how global finance flows through the fastest-growing hub.

- BY JAMILA GANDHI

Middle East capital markets are in the midst of a powerful resurgence. In Q1 2025 alone, IPO proceeds from the region more than doubled year-on-year, reaching nearly $2.4 billion, as per EY research. This growth trajectory has not gone unnoticed by the global financial elite. J.P. Morgan Chase–ranked number one on Forbes' 2025 Global 2000 list and stewarding $4.4 trillion in assets–is ramping up its regional presence in MENA.

“The region is becoming more of a focus of attention from senior management at J.P. Morgan,” says Khaled Hobballah, Senior Country Officer for MENA and Head of Markets for MENA and Türkiye. “Our revenues have doubled over the past five years–and we plan to grow them by another 50% by 2030.”

J.P. Morgan is executing a multi-pronged strategy in the Gulf. From scaling its payments infrastructure and upgrading digital platforms to expanding asset management and leading headline-grabbing IPOs, the bank is embedding itself across every layer of the region's financial ecosystem. That momentum is underpinned by heavy investment in technology, deepening regulatory relationships, and a shift in mindset.

Historically focused on government and quasi-government clients, the bank has widened its lens to include a broader corporate universe and the burgeoning private sector. “There’s a whole ecosystem of private sector companies that weren't on our radar before. Now they are,” Hobballah shares. A critical enabler of this deeper market penetration has been J.P. Morgan’s payments and treasury buildout. In the past year, the bank secured a Category 1 license from Abu Dhabi Global Market, enabling it to hold deposits and support regional treasury functions from the U.A.E.