Citi, Standard Chartered Evacuate Dubai Offices; HSBC Closes Qatar Branches Amid Security Concerns

Dubai — Citigroup and Standard Chartered have told staff in Dubai to leave their offices and work from home as Gulf lenders step up precautions after Iran threatened to strike regional banking interests linked to the United States and Israel, according to people familiar and a staff memo.

Citigroup instructed employees at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and in the Oud Metha neighborhood to evacuate and work remotely until further notice, a memo reviewed by Reuters showed. A Citi spokesperson said the bank is taking measures to keep staff safe and has contingency plans to ensure business continuity.

Standard Chartered, which has a significant United Arab Emirates footprint, has also shifted teams to remote work in Dubai, people familiar said. A spokesperson for the bank declined to comment.

The moves follow a warning from a spokesperson for Tehran’s Khatam al-Anbiya military command that Iran would target economic and banking interests in the region tied to the U.S. and Israel. The threat came after an administrative building linked to Bank Sepah — one of Iran’s largest public banks with historic military ties — was struck overnight in Tehran, according to the semi-official Mehr news agency.

• Citigroup evacuated staff from offices in DIFC and Oud Metha, instructing work-from-home until further notice.
• Standard Chartered shifted Dubai staff to remote work; the bank declined public comment.
• HSBC closed all branches in Qatar “until further notice” to safeguard employees and customers.
• JPMorgan declined to comment; Goldman Sachs staff across the region are working from home.
• Iran warned it would target regional banking interests linked to the U.S. and Israel after an attack on a building tied to Bank Sepah.

Heightened security measures have already pushed many foreign and local employers to adopt remote-work protocols after Iran responded to U.S. and Israeli strikes by firing missiles at targets across the Middle East, causing deaths, damage and travel disruption.

The escalating tensions have begun to dent Dubai’s carefully cultivated reputation as the Gulf’s most reliable economic hub. Executives and advisers say the war has sparked concerns about capital flight, layoffs and the possibility of firms relocating parts of their operations. Reuters reported last week that the conflict is challenging Dubai’s safe-haven status among international businesses.

Dubai’s DIFC has been the backbone of the city’s rise as a global finance center since its launch in 2004. By the end of 2025, the free zone hosted more than 290 banks, 102 hedge funds, 500 wealth managers and 1,289 family-related entities — a scale that underscores why any prolonged disruption would ripple well beyond the UAE.

Standard Chartered derives nearly 6% of its overall income from the UAE, company filings show, and has in recent years moved more senior leadership to the Gulf. Roberto Hoornweg, chief executive of the bank’s investment bank, is based in Dubai, making him one of the most senior global finance executives domiciled in the region.

HSBC, one of the biggest international lenders operating in the Gulf, said this week its “conviction in the GCC’s fundamentals and its future is unchanged,” according to CEO Georges Elhedery. On Wednesday, the bank said the safety of colleagues and customers remains its top priority as it adapts operations in Dubai; it has closed all branches in Qatar until further notice, a customer notice said.

While banks emphasized continuity plans and remote-work capability, the immediate focus is on staff security and operational resilience should threats escalate. A prolonged period of heightened risk could test Dubai’s appeal for global lenders that have concentrated capital and decision-makers in the emirate over the past decade.

For now, lenders are calibrating their response day by day, balancing the need to protect people with the imperative to keep markets and payments functioning in one of the world’s most interconnected financial corridors.

By Ali Musa

Axadle Times international–Monitoring.