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JPMorgan ( JPM ) targets mid-cap growth in Europe, Middle East

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Citigroup ( C/PN ) sees UAE as key market and is investing

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JPMorgan ( JPM ) weighs expanding footprint in Turkey

(Updates to add additional quotes and context)

By Tom Sims

FRANKFURT, Nov 14 (Reuters) - The U.S. bank JPMorgan ( JPM )

has expanded in Dubai as part of a broader push to grow

and do more business with medium-sized companies, an executive

told Reuters, as competition in the Middle East intensifies.

The move, not previously reported, is a challenge to

competitors such as Citigroup ( C/PN ), and comes after JPMorgan ( JPM )

recently devoted more resources to coverage of so-called midcaps

in Austria and Poland.

"There's a global focus on doing more in the midcap space,"

Stefan Povaly, London-based co-head of corporate banking for

Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said. Midcaps give JPMorgan ( JPM )

another revenue stream beyond its traditional focus on the

biggest blue-chip firms.

"The Middle East is of course a priority ... This is the

first step for an expansion into the midcap space," Povaly

said.

Global financial firms have increasingly set up operations

in the Middle East to tap into oil wealth and growing regional

markets. Barclays ( BCS ) recently announced an expansion into Saudi

Arabia, while Goldman Sachs ( GS ) opened an office in Kuwait.

Citigroup ( C/PN ) first opened in the UAE in 1964, and added

commercial bank activities in 2007.

Speaking about competition in general, Alex Stiris, head of

Citi's commercial banking in Europe, the Middle East and Africa,

told Reuters that Citi sees the UAE as a location with one of

the greatest opportunities for increasing market share and that

his bank has an ingrained "natural advantage".

"We have seen more competition come into the UAE," he said,

not referring to any individual firm.

"Obviously the more competition, the more we have to be on

our tiptoes. So it worries me to some extent," he said. "We

can't rest on our laurels."

"We are investing selectively," Stiris said. "Investing is

not just in terms of just adding more headcount. It's also in

terms of just looking at the people we have, and in some cases,

just upgrading people."

"There's also investing in terms of capital," he added.

Elsewhere, JPMorgan ( JPM ) is in the early stages of evaluating a

move to increase covering midcaps in Turkey.

"Over time, we could look to hire bankers dedicated to

midcap clients in the country," Povaly said.

JPMorgan ( JPM ) has relocated Tushar Arora, a banker who has been

with the U.S. lender for more than a decade, from London to take

up a Dubai role as the first in a team to focus on smaller

venture capital-backed companies.

The activity follows a push to Poland with the hire of

Marcin Pietrucha from Santander, who has built a team based in

Warsaw and other hubs.

In parallel, JPMorgan ( JPM ) is seeking more midcap business in

Austria, headed by banker Philippe Bull based in Frankfurt.

JPMorgan ( JPM ) has a large presence in Germany, in part for

coverage of the country's medium-sized Mittelstand firms.

JPMorgan ( JPM ) has been on an expansion course in Europe. The bank

this week officially opened an office in Berlin with space for

400 staff ahead of its launch of a digital retail bank.

Last week, German regulators imposed a record fine on

JPMorgan ( JPM ) for deficiencies in its anti-money laundering controls,

reflecting the scale of its operations in the country.