Altaira Wealth Management, the Geneva-based firm, has launched a subsidiary in the Kingdom of Bahrain to serve high net individuals based in the Gulf region.

Anthony Acampora, chief executive of the parent firm, will also serve as CEO of Altaira Middle East. In his prior career Acampora headed up the Swiss office of Russell Investments.

The new Altaira office, which is in the Seef District of Manama, has already recruited senior relationship manager Karim Alansari and office manager Eman Mohammed. Further hires have been made and these individuals are in the process of coming on board, the firm said.

Altaira’s expansion into Bahrain bucks a current trend of firms pulling out of the Kingdom as they scale back their Middle Eastern networks. Earlier this month, for example, Societe Generale Private Banking confirmed that it is to shutter its Bahrain office and centralise its Middle Eastern business in the UAE, retaining its offices in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

SocGen joined fellow French giants Credit Agricole and BNP Paribas in cutting back operations in Bahrain, although Notz, Stucki & Cie, the Geneva-based asset manager, recently unveiled a new office in the Kingdom.

Although firms have attributed closures in Bahrain to efforts to rationalise their businesses, there is ongoing civil unrest simmering away in the Kingdom. As a result, there is there currently debate over whether the Bahrain Grand Prix should go ahead as scheduled on 22 April. The Kingdom’s season-opening race last year was cancelled due to such troubles.