The opening of the DIFC branch, on level 5 of Gate Precinct Building 5, follows an announcement by Coutts last year that it planned to grow its business in key international markets, including the Middle East.
The new office in the DIFC, though, actually replaces another that Coutts had elsewhere in Dubai, in the Park Place tower on Sheikh Zayed Road.
As part of its move, Coutts upgraded to a so-called Category 4 license, which means that it is now able to give clients "specific investment recommendations… with access to the full Coutts product suite, enabling us to provide solutions to help our clients achieve their objectives," a Coutts spokeswoman said.
As a representative office previously, it was permitted only to tell clients about its products but not to advise on them.
In a statement, Coutts said that its opening of a DIFC office underscored the bank’s “commitment to the region”, where, in addition to the new DIFC branch, Coutts also has offices in Abu Dhabi and Doha.
“Our relocation to the DIFC represents a significant milestone for Coutts in the Middle East," Coutts chief executive Rory Tapner, who attended the opening today, said.
"In addition to offering a more central location, our presence here will allow us to provide a greater degree of investment advice to our clients who work with us in the region.”
Also on hand were Coutts’s chairman,The Earl of Home; DIFC governor Abdullah Mohammed Saleh; and the British consul general in Dubai, Edward Hobart.
The private wealth management division of the RBS Group, Coutts operates out of more than 40 offices globally, including in such international financial centres as Zurich, Geneva, Hong Kong, Singapore and Dubai.
Included under the Coutts umbrella at RBS are Edinburgh’s Adam & Co private bank and the Channel Islands-based RBS International, which provides offshore banking services.
