KUALA LUMPUR: Gatehouse Bank Plc (Gatehouse), a London-based syariah-compliant wholesale investment bank, is exploring the possibility of securing principal banking licences in Malaysia, to expand three of its core business segments in the country.
The bank which opened its first representative office in Kuala Lumpur is exploring licences in universal banking, investment banking and wealth management.
Chief representative of Gatehouse Bank in Malaysia, Richard Thomas said the bank will continue to hold talks with regulators, namely, the Securities Commission and Bank Negara, on the proposed licences.
“We just launched the representative office and are looking at banking operations commencing in less than two years.
“The bank is also in discussions with its team here, on which licence to apply for first, subject to market demand and conditions.
We might just apply for all three,” he told a media briefing yesterday in conjunction with the opening of the representative office.
Thomas also said Malaysia is the ultimate choice to set up base for the bank in Asia.
He said after establishing a strong footprint in the Malaysian banking sector, Gatehouse Bank will then use the track record, to venture into neighbouring countries such as Singapore.
“The establishment of a representative office in the region is an important element of the bank’s global strategy to maximise the international growth potential in Islamic finance.
“As a significant growth market, the opening of Gatehouse Bank’s office in Malaysia will offer stakeholder’s access to Asia in a way not previously possible,” he added.
Malaysia is the world’s third largest centre of Islamic finance with US$133 billion of syariah compliant assets after Saudi Arabia and Iran.
This advantage, Thomas said, presents significant opportunities for Gatehouse’s differentiated approach based on a client-led service, effectively linking the core markets of Europe, Asia and the Gulf nations to deliver secure, income-producing global investment opportunities. — Bernama