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JPMorgan ( JPM ) targets midcap growth in Europe, Middle East

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Follows moves in Austria, Poland

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JPMorgan ( JPM ) weighs expanding footprint in Turkey

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Citigroup ( C/PN ) sees UAE as key market amid rising competition

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 in the Middle

East and beyond, an executive told Reuters.

The move, which has not yet been 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. The bank is also now weighing increasing

its presence in Turkey.

Midcaps give JPMorgan ( JPM ) another revenue stream beyond its

traditional focus on the biggest blue-chip firms.

"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.

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 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 been increasingly setting up

shop in the United Arab Emirates to tap oil wealth and growing

markets.

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

commercial bank activities in 2007.

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.

"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."

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.

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.

In part a reflection of its size, JPMorgan ( JPM ) last week was

slapped with the biggest-ever fine by German financial

regulators for deficiencies in money-laundering prevention.