DUBAI (Reuters) - National Bank of Kuwait (NBKK.KW: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the third-biggest Gulf Arab lender by market value, plans to list its investment banking unit NBK Capital within three years, a senior bank official said on Sunday.
NBK Capital Chief Executive George Nasra told the Reuters Middle East Investment Summit the unit would be listed on the Kuwait stock exchange.
He said the investment-banking unit, which was hived off from the parent company in 2005, planned a listing to enable it to launch stock option programs.
"You need these assets to be liquid," he said.
NBK Capital is expanding in the Middle East to tap a rising demand for investment banking advisory services on the back of a wave of mergers and acquisitions pursued by Arab Gulf investors awash with petrodollars.
Stock option programs are often part of payment packages for top investment bankers at Western banks.
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