The protests in Bahrain, and their brutal repression, have raised major questions over its future as a regional financial hub, analysts say, with banks acting to relocate employees and capital to elsewhere in the region in case conditions worsen despite the declaration of a three-month state of emergency.
Men walked near the Bahrain Financial Harbor in the captial, Manama. The recent unrest has forced banks to relocate some employees, calling into question the country's status as a regional financial hub.
“Bahrain has suffered irreparable damage to its reputation as a financial hub, one that will take a long time to repair,” said Ayesha Sabavala, a Middle East economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit, based in London. “Before this, its position was already challenged by business centers in Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi anyway.”
Now, she said, the protests and unrest have persuaded banks to start transferring assets and employees to places perceived as safer.
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