DUBAI, Sept 4 (Reuters) - JP Morgan has set up a

private banking team in Dubai to provide wealth management

services, it said on Wednesday, as the Wall Street bank responds

to a growing number of rich people moving to the Gulf.

JPM picked Sebastian Botana de Beauvau and Carol Mushriqui,

who join from its Geneva and London offices respectively, to

start the team, which will cater for individual people, family

offices, charities and family foundations across the region, it

said in a statement.

Western wealth managers have increased their presence in the

United Arab Emirates as its relatively neutral political stance,

ease of doing business, convenient time zones, and tax free

status has lured an increasingly diverse pool of investors.

In June, UBS said it was boosting its wealth

management team in the Middle East with 10 new hires, joining

expansion efforts by other Western banks such as Deutsche Bank

and Lombard Odier, as well as by Asian wealth

managers.

"The Middle East has for some time now, been a fast-growing

global hub for innovation, attracting global interest and

investment. Our dedicated local team strengthen our ability to

better serve our clients," Karim Rekik, JPM's head of Emerging

Markets and Middle East, International Private Bank, was quoted

as saying in the statement.

The bank added it had plans "to grow the team steadily in

the coming years," without providing a specific figure.