Naguib Kheraj, the former finance director of Barclays, has been appointed chief executive of investment bank JP Morgan Cazenove, one of the City’s oldest firms.

Mr Kheraj, 44, is the City’s best known Muslim banker who was paid £600,000-a-month as an adviser to Barclays for eight months last year.

Mr Kheraj, who is also a senior adviser to the Aga Khan, known in Britain for his horse racing interests, will take up his new role at Cazenove on October 6.

He said that he did not believe his Muslim beliefs had held him back in his community.

“It is very important to me. In Ismaili doctrine we take a holistic view, not separating one part of our life from another.

“Being a Muslim has had no impact on my career but it would be difficult to judge whether it impacts on other Muslims. It is very difficult to bracket Muslims in the public perception.

“It is the same as saying all Christians are the same where there is clearly different interpretations, different practices.”

Educated at Dulwich College and Cambridge, Mr Kheraj began his career in 1986 at Salomon Brothers in London, and also held a senior role at Robert Fleming before joining Barclays in 1997.

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