Card corp.'s bank subsidiary seeks to grow regional "presence and profile". American Express Global Wealth Management, part of American Express ' London-based international banking subsidiary American Express Bank, has opened an office in Bahrain to serve existing Persian Gulf region-based private clients and attract new ones.

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"Bahrain is an excellent location from which to fulfill our clients' needs throughout the Gulf, as well as grow our presence and profile," says Ashraf Issa, head of American Express Bank's business in the Middle East and Turkey. "This new office joins our offices in Dubai and Beirut, which further secures our ability to provide the highest levels of service to our clients wherever they may be located in the Middle East."

The Middle East saw its population of U.S.-dollar millionaires grow by 9.8% to around 300,000 in 2005, according to most recent edition of Capgemini 's World Wealth Report. Total assets held by Middle East-based millionaires -- many based in the oil-rich Gulf states -- increased 19.7% to about $1.2 trillion.

Meanwhile regional instability is hastening a move among wealthy Gulf-region residents to European and U.S. wealth-management firms.

American Express Global Wealth Management has about $22 billion in assets under management. -FWR

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