Dubai-headquartered Mashreq has hired Vivek Batra as global head of transaction banking, effective immediately.

He succeeds Victor Penna, who is leaving the bank after nearly four years in the role.

Batra will assume full responsibility for global transaction banking (GTB) across the wider Mashreq Group. He will have a particular focus on growing the use of the bank’s corporate banking platform NEO CORP, which launched in September 2024 and covers cash management, collections, documentary trade and supply chain finance.

At the same time, he will seek to further develop the GTB business in all international markets and “lead the push into new digital banking and industry ecosystems”, Mashreq says in a statement today.

Batra joins from Boston Consulting Group, where he served as a senior advisor for the past two years, helping bank clients deliver and execute their digital and transaction banking strategies.

He took on that post after five years at MUFG, where he worked as head of transaction banking for its Asia GTB business, based in Singapore.

Prior to this, he served at DBS for over a decade and held multiple posts, including global sales head for GTB.

Joel Van Dusen, group head of corporate and investment banking at Mashreq, says Batra’s “skill and expertise will have a major impact on driving growth and expansion across our markets”.

“Global transaction banking is a core element of our offering, influencing a number of our operations,” he adds.

Speaking about his appointment, Batra says: “I am honoured to join Mashreq and to work with some of the most respected professionals in the banking industry at a time of great opportunity and development.

“I see huge potential in the GTB sector in the coming years, and in Mashreq’s many markets, and am excited to contribute to the bank’s growth and development.”