BNY Mellon Secures Saudi RHQ Licence, Strengthens Middle East Foothold

Malaz Madani

Last updated 2-05-2025

3 min

BNY Mellon obtained a regional headquarters licence to expand operations in Saudi Arabia.

The new RHQ in Riyadh will centralise strategic guidance and administrative coordination.

Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 aligns with BNY Mellon's growth and regional partnership aspirations.

International companies, including Goldman Sachs, are attracted by incentives and mandatory headquarters rules.

Riyadh is emerging as a major financial hub, drawing significant global investment interest.

BNY Mellon has announced it has secured a regional headquarters (RHQ) licence from Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Investments (MISA), marking a significant expansion of its Middle Eastern presence. The global financial services heavyweight revealed the news in an online statement, highlighting its ongoing commitment to develop its operations within the region.

The company's brand-new RHQ in Riyadh will serve as the nerve centre for strategic guidance, administrative coordination and corporate support across BNY Mellon's Middle East subsidiaries and services. Of course, the bank isn't a newcomer to Saudi Arabia—BNY Mellon already supports clients with Asset Servicing solutions in the Kingdom, including Global Custody Services, Institutional Accounting, Global Risk Solutions and Custody FX, under a Capital Markets Authority licence.

According to Hani Kablawi, BNY Mellon's head of International, Saudi Arabia's ambitious Vision 2030 aligns comfortably with the firm's own goals. "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is delivering on its Vision 2030, and we will continue to bring BNY’s expertise across the financial lifecycle to help the KSA achieve its ambitions," Kablawi commented. He added that securing the licence "underscores the strategic importance of the Middle East in BNY’s international growth plans and our commitment to being an enduring partner to our clients across the region."

Saudi Arabia has been actively pushing to draw in global corporates to plant their flags in Riyadh, offering tax incentives and other attractions to multinational firms. This comes alongside a major push by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to diversify the nation's economy, fiddling less on oil revenues and drawing more heavily from foreign direct investment.

Recently, authorities introduced rules stating international companies must base regional headquarters in the Kingdom to qualify for government contracts. Other big finance names have already hopped onboard: Goldman Sachs snagged a licence to open a regional HQ there in May 2024, following Citigroup securing a similar approval late in 2023.

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BNY Mellon’s move to Riyadh highlights the broader trend of global banks increasingly viewing the Gulf region as a pivotal market, driven by a rise in sovereign wealth fund investments, infrastructure mega-projects, and maturing capital market operations. These developments come as state economies across the region take deliberate steps to reform and encourage incoming capital.

Amongst local financial circles—which, as regular Arageek readers know, tend to dissect every development keenly—the bank’s arrival confirms Riyadh’s rising prominence as an emerging hub for international finance. With decades of experience in Saudi, as well as strong links across the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain, BNY Mellon isn't exactly beginning from scratch; instead, it is further deepening the well-established roots of partnership it has nurtured for many years.

This latest announcement places BNY amongst several hundred global firms flocking to the Saudi capital, reflecting the kingdom's accelerated plans to become a leading business hub in the wider Middle East.

It seems clear that many more international players could follow suit, given the Kingdom’s unwavering commitment to becoming a key financial centre in the region. For now, though, BNY Mellon is certainly staking its calim.

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