UBS is moving six people from London to Dubai to grow its capabilities in the
Middle East, the Swiss bank said on Tuesday.

Simon Dowker, director in the financial sponsors team, will continue to cover sovereign wealth funds from his new base in Dubai.

Matthew Odgers, executive director in the UBS telecoms franchise for Europe, Middle East and Africa, and associate director in the oil and gas team Michael Klimbacher are also heading to Dubai.

The other transfers are from the equity capital markets and mergers and acquisitions teams in London.

UBS has more than 200 staff dedicated to the Middle East market, of which more than 65 focus on the Gulf region.

Investment banks are switching resources to the Middle East to ease some of the huge fall in dealflow from Western markets in the wake of the credit crunch.

Other bulge-bracket banks such as Morgan Stanley and Lehman Brothers have also boosted their teams in the region in recent months.-Reuters