Mashreq has appointed Rajeev Bhatnagar as Group Chief Risk Officer. Based in Dubai, Bhatnagar will lead the bank’s Group Risk Management function.
Bhatnagar will work with Mashreq’s Board Risk Committee, Executive Committee and business leadership teams. His remit includes risk governance, risk culture and risk management capabilities.
Rajeev Bhatnagar joins Mashreq from BNY
Bhatnagar joins Mashreq after serving as Chief Risk and Compliance Officer International at The Bank of New York Mellon (BNY) in London. In that role, he oversaw risk and compliance across the bank’s international footprint.
His responsibilities covered clients in more than 100 countries. He also held the role of Chief Risk and Compliance Officer for Global Payments and Trade Finance.
Earlier, Bhatnagar held interim global leadership roles at BNY. These included Global Chief Compliance and Ethics Officer.
Before joining BNY, Bhatnagar held senior risk leadership positions at Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Citigroup. His career has covered several geographies and business lines.
His experience includes financial and non financial risk disciplines. It also covers large scale transformation, digital risk and emerging risk oversight.
Group Chief Risk Officer role covers risk governance
At Mashreq, Bhatnagar will lead the Group Risk Management function. He will work with senior leadership and the Board Risk Committee on the bank’s risk agenda.
According to Mashreq, the role will support risk governance and risk culture across the Group. It will also focus on building risk management capabilities.
Bhatnagar will support Mashreq’s strategic growth within its approved risk appetite. The bank said the appointment comes as the financial landscape becomes more complex and interconnected.
Ahmed Abdelaal, Group Chief Executive Officer of Mashreq, said strong risk management supports sustainable growth, capital deployment and long term resilience.
Abdelaal also pointed to Bhatnagar’s more than three decades of experience across risk, compliance and business leadership. He said Bhatnagar’s international experience would support Mashreq as it navigates an evolving risk environment.
Bhatnagar highlights changing banking risks
Bhatnagar said technology, changing business models and increasingly linked risks are reshaping banking. He added that risk functions need to anticipate change rather than only respond to it.
At Mashreq, Bhatnagar said he would work with colleagues across the Group. He also said he would build on the bank’s existing foundations and contribute to its continued success.
The appointment brings an international risk and compliance leadership profile into Mashreq’s senior management structure. Bhatnagar’s previous roles span banking risk, compliance, transformation and emerging risks across several markets.
Rajeev Bhatnagar’s education
Bhatnagar holds a postgraduate diploma in Management from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad. He also holds a Bachelor of Technology in Electrical Engineering from G. B. Pant University.
About Mashreq
Mashreq is headquartered in Dubai and serves individuals, entrepreneurs, corporates and institutions across the UAE and other regional and international markets.
The bank has a heritage spanning nearly six decades. Its operations cover retail banking, corporate and investment banking, global markets, transaction banking, Islamic banking, wealth management and treasury.
Mashreq also operates across the UAE, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Egypt, Pakistan, Türkiye, India, the UK, the US and Hong Kong.
The bank says its operations combine digital first innovation with relationship banking. It also has an Environmental, Social, and Governance framework covering sustainable finance, responsible operations and societal impact.
The appointment of Bhatnagar adds a senior executive with more than three decades of risk and compliance experience to Mashreq’s leadership team.
