Vijay Shankar (left) and Amaar Khan

Barclays is strengthening its corporate banking franchise in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East with two senior appointments in newly created roles.

Vijay Shankar joins the bank as managing director and head of global transaction banking, APAC and the Middle East, and Amaar Khan is appointed as managing director, CIO and head of corporate banking technology, APAC and the Middle East. Both Shankar and Khan will be based in Singapore.

Shankar will further build the global transaction banking business in collaboration with technology and operations to deepen and broaden client relationships. He will report to Karen Braithwaite, global head of transaction banking, and Pushkaraj Gumaste, head of corporate banking, APAC and the Middle East.

Khan will develop a technology roadmap and work closely with the international corporate bank to build product capabilities and drive commercial growth across the two regions. He reports to Saket Sharma, CIO, corporate bank.

“Both Asia-Pacific and the Middle East present growth opportunities for our clients, and the appointments underpin our commitment to drive client engagement and to scale our technology platform,” Gumaste says.

Shankar brings over 38 years of industry experience, including a robust background in transaction banking across Asia-Pacific. Most recently, he was executive director at ANZ Bank, where he established transaction banking across Asia. Prior to that, he was at Standard Chartered and Deutsche Bank.

With over 27 years’ experience in technology, Khan has delivered high-impact transformation projects in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific. He was previously managing director, chief information officer and head of engineering for APAC at Bank of New York. Prior to that, he was with Bank of Singapore, Standard Chartered, Citi, and Credit Suisse.