Swiss private bank Sarasin said it has won a licence from the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) to offer advisory services to wealthy private clients. The new entity – Sarasin-Alpen (Bahrain), will set up its office in the Kingdom.

Part of the bank's Sarasin-Alpen subsidiary, has been granted an Investment Business Firm Category 2 licence. The subsidiary began operations in Dubai in 2005 and has offices in Oman, Qatar and India.

It is Sarasin's second attempt to expand into Bahrain. Last year the bank pulled out of a planned joint venture and surrendered its investment business license there.

Welcoming the bank, Ahmed Al-Bassam, director of Licensing & Policy, Central Bank of Bahrain, said, “We welcome Bank Sarasin's decision to expand its operations in the Gulf by establishing Sarasin-Alpen in Bahrain.'

'Despite the prevailing international market conditions, there is still demand for investment services from professional advisors. The future of Bahrain, the GCC and the Middle East region economies is very promising,' he noted. 

Rohit Walia, executive vice chairman and CEO of Bank Sarasin-Alpen, said, 'As the ‘Best Private Bank in the Middle East’ (The Banker Middle East Awards 2010) we are confident that we can offer tailored advisory services to our new clients in Bahrain that will provide genuine value-added benefits to their investment portfolios.'

Fidelis M. Goetz, head of private banking at Bank Sarasin, said, 'We are delighted to announce our presence in Bahrain, yet another country in this important strategic region. Sarasin-Alpen has been very successful in establishing itself in the Middle East over the last five years and we are now looking to replicate this success story in Bahrain.'

Sarasin, owned by Dutch-based Rabobank, focuses on the Swiss market and selected European markets such as Germany, as well as Asia and the Middle East, which Swiss wealth managers see as having large growth potential.

'The Middle East is one of three key regions on which we are focusing our hopes for the future,' said Sarasin chief executive Joachim Straehle.

Sarasin is also in the market to buy another private bank but few meet its wish list of a target with $20 billion to $50 billion in taxed assets and a reasonable sale price, CEO Joachim Straehle told Reuters last month.-Reuters and TradeArabia News Service