It said the move was part of its plan to increase services to wealthy, and lucrative, client bases in the Middle East.
The new business is called Sarasin-Alpen Bahrain and is part of Bank Sarasin & Co’s Alpen subsidiary, which operates in GCC and south Asian markets. It has offices in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), Qatar Financial Centre in Doha, Oman and India.
Sarasin said the banking and advisory business Alpen operated in conjunction with investment banking associate Alpen Capital, the services of which complemented each other, it noted.
The private bank, which is owned by Dutch Rabobank, is pinning its growth strategy in the years ahead on three ‘key’ regions, the Middle East, Asia and Europe.
The latest move is the second attempt Sarasin has made to target the Bahrain market. It pulled out of a joint venture there last year with the local El-Khereiji group, citing the unfavourable economic climate.
