Ramin Habibi joins fund as independent director

Ramin Habibi has joined the board of Danfonds Frontier Markets fund as an independent director with immediate effect. Ramin Habibi is Managing Director and Founder of Rating Developments Limited, a bank credit analysis and advisory service covering banks in specific emerging markets

Born 17 April 1952, Ramin Habibi started his banking career with Bank of America’s Middle East Area Office where he worked on correspondent banking and sovereign lending, later moving to BoA’s Karachi branch where he was primarily responsible for relationships with Pakistani banks and several multinational subsidiaries. RH later served for five years as Chief Analyst of Capital Intelligence, a credit rating agency, where he initiated and maintained credit ratings of dozens of banks in the Middle East, South Korea and Thailand. In 1990, RH founded BREE, the first credit rating agency covering banks in Central & Eastern Europe, initiating more than fifty international credit ratings. RH became the regional head of Thomson BankWatch after TBW acquired BREE in 1995, expanding coverage through the CIS and East and South Africa. After Fitch acquired TBW in 2001, RH founded Rating Developments, a rating advisory service that has undertaken projects in Bulgaria, the Baltics, Cyprus and Libya. RH has also served as Senior Advisor to Keefe Bruyette & Woods Ltd’s investment banking team on developing relationships with banks in CEE and CIS countries.

Daniel Broby, CEO of Danfonds, notes that Ramin “will bring unique insights on the valuation of banks in frontier markets that represent 40% of our investment universe.” Ramin brings a wealthy of experience to the role, having worked in the banking and credit rating industries in numerous frontier and emerging markets.