BankAmerica Corporation, the second largest bank in the world in terms of tier one capital, has moved the centre of its Middle East and North Africa (MENA) operations to Dubai from London.

Omar Bouhadiba, managing director and regional manager for the MENA region, says that the bank has taken a very positive view on the area: 'In the world of emerging markets, the Middle East is very stable, and we want to be more active in the region.' He says that BankAmerica will focus on its traditional strengths in commercial andcorporate banking, but that it also aims to be innovative.

'We want to bring something new to the region,' he says. 'We will be looking to get involved in structured and project finance and will also be looking at Islamic structuring within some of our deals.'