SG Private Banking is reinforcing its presence in the Middle East by appointing two new senior managers.

The managers are Eddy Abramo as chief executive of SG Private Banking (Middle East) and Eric Lorentz as managing director and global market manager for Arab high and ultra-high net worth clients, the bank said in a statement.

The French-listed bank is not the only institution adding to its Middle East teams; Lloyds' private banking arm has added to its presence in the area with senior hires, as this publication exclusively reported last Friday.

Eddy Abramo will be responsible for pursuing the growth strategy of the private bank in the Middle East, through its offices in Bahrain, Abu-Dhabi, and Dubai. In particular, he will supervise the development of dedicated products and services for Arab and Indian private clients.

Based in the United Arab Emirates, Eric Lorentz will lead and coordinate SG Private Banking's worldwide marketing activities for the Arab clients of its offices in Europe and the Middle East.

Mr Abramo joined Société Générale in 1997 as a discretionary portfolio manager for SG Private Banking in Paris and remained in this position until 2002, when he joined Société Générale Asset Management, where he was responsible for creating a discretionary management product offering. In 2006, he returned to SG Private Banking as global head of the Hedge Fund Advisors centre of expertise.

Mr Lorentz has established several wealth management initiatives in Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Among his roles has been leadership of development of Barclays’ private banking business in the Middle East, supervising teams in London, Geneva and Dubai. He started his career at Citibank Bahrain.