Bahrain’s rulers may have taken a softer stance on its Shia protesters over the weekend, but days of violence will have convinced many financial services professionals in the kingdom to start assessing their options.

The protests in Manama have been somewhat overshadowed by the violence in Libya over the last few days, but thousands of demonstrators in Bahrain continue to occupy the Pearl Roundabout area after a week in which hundreds have been injured and at least seven people killed in violent clashes with riot police and the military.

Many have sought to play down the significance of the impact on the banking sector, not least the Bahrain Association of Banks chairman Abdul Karim Bucheery, who said: “So long as this crisis is dealt with and it does not last too long Bahrain can handle the situation with no long term damage to its reputation.”

BNP Paribas still has its regional headquarters in Bahrain, but most international banks have long since set up their Middle Eastern hub in the shining towers of the DIFC. Citigroup, for instance, switched its head office to Dubai in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.

However, Bahrain is still a significant insurance, asset management and Islamic finance hub, and is home to many Western expat financial services professionals. Although many would have been sheltered from the protests in their gated communities, some are already reassessing their career choices.

“We’ve received a number of CVs from expats in Bahrain looking to move,” says Peter Greaves, director, head of financial markets at McArthur Murray in Dubai. “One investment banker told us he had to drive between two tanks to get into his office car park on Thursday. Something like that makes you think whether you’d be better off elsewhere.”

Bahrain has competitors elsewhere in the Gulf anyway. Qatar Financial Centre, for instance, last year announced a new focus on asset management and insurance and, in light of recent events, many firms could be more easily persuaded to make the switch.

Then there’s the DIFC, which recently reduced the cost of doing business in the financial centre, and still has a significant amount of vacant office space.

Financial institutions will be assessing the situation in Bahrain carefully over the next few weeks, looking at potential threats to their business and to their staff. While the fallout is unlikely to be immediate or dramatic, a gradual shift of both individuals and companies could begin to emerge.