RBC cees, part of RBC Wealth Management, a division of the Royal Bank of Canada, has announced the expansion of its employee benefit plan administration business into the Middle East.

RBC cees intends to capitalise on increased interest in employee retention and retirement planning to become a market leader in the provision of corporate trustee and administration services for employee benefit plans in the region.

RBC cees has made two new hires to its Dubai operation to support this effort. Simon Stirzaker and Rola Azab have joined RBC cees as senior manager and manager respectively, with a mandate to grow and develop RBC cees’ offering of corporate retirement, bonus deferral and employee retention solutions in the Middle East.

Stirzaker and Azab, previously at HSBC, will report to Julian Gardner, director - Emea, in RBC’s continental European hub in Geneva.

RBC cees’ Geneva office was established three years ago as part of RBC cees’ wider strategy to expand its products and solutions in the Emea region.

“RBC cees already has a strong track record of success in the Middle East, delivering retirement savings plans to corporate employees in the UAE, Kuwait, Lebanon and Egypt,” said Julian Gardner.-TradeArabia News Service