BNY Mellon has said it plans to further raise the profile its corporate trust business in the Middle East and North Africa, following the appointment of Paul Farrell as head of sales and relationship management.

Farrell was appointed on Monday to head up the corporate trust division in the Middle East and Africa region, based in Dubai.

“Paul’s remit is to further establish BNY Mellon’s corporate trust business as one of the leading providers of agency and trust services for conventional and Islamic finance structures originating in the MENA region,” a spokesperson for BNY Mellon told Global Investor.

In terms of further hires, the bank said it will “continue to assess opportunities as the market develops”.

Farrell reports to Aidan Canny, the US firm's managing director of regional markets and investment managers for corporate trust.

Farrell replaces Brian Hoey, who has moved to BNY Mellon’s global client management team in London, after serving in the role since March 2014.

Farrell has been at the custody bank since 2007, most recently heading up the new business implementation team in Dublin which is focused on structured finance and securitisation.

In his new role, Farrell will oversee the bank’s corporate trust relationships across Abu Dhabi, Beirut, Cairo, Dubai and Istanbul.

The corporate trust solutions in this region range from trustee and agent roles on traditional bond issuance to escrow agent and loan administration roles. Clients in the region include financial institutions, private sector bond issuers and sovereign entities.

BNY said last month it had appointed Frances Barney as global head of risk solutions, based in New York. Barney replaces Debra Baker, who retired at the end of 2016, having been in the role since February 2013.

The bank also revealed on February 16 that ex-Societe Generale banker Stephen Doyle had been appointed to the newly created role of head of UK institutional relationship development for asset servicing.