In recent weeks, several international financial institutions and major financial services firms have adopted extraordinary measures in the Middle East — especially in Dubai and other Gulf financial centers — after Iran threatened to attack “economic centers and banks” as part of the escalation of the regional conflict. These warnings triggered temporary office evacuations, branch closures, or the shift to remote work for employees in some of the region’s main financial hubs.
One of the most notable cases is Citigroup. The US bank ordered the evacuation of several of its offices in Dubai, including facilities located in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and in the Oud Metha district. As a precautionary measure, Citi also temporarily closed some branches in the United Arab Emirates and asked its employees to work from home until the security situation stabilizes.
Another of the affected institutions was Goldman Sachs, which also asked its staff in Dubai and other Gulf countries to avoid going to the office.
JPMorgan Chase adopted similar measures: the bank allowed a large part of its workforce in the Middle East to work remotely while risks to corporate facilities and staff were being assessed.
Among the banks with a strong historical presence in the Gulf, Standard Chartered also asked its employees to temporarily leave offices in Dubai’s financial district and continue their activities remotely. The British bank generates a significant share of its revenue from Asia and the Middle East.
Another international institution affected was HSBC, which temporarily closed some branches in Qatar and expanded remote work policies for its staff in several Gulf countries.
In addition to banks, several global financial services and consulting firms — part of the international financial ecosystem — also adopted similar measures. Among them were PwC and Deloitte, which evacuated or temporarily closed offices in Dubai and other Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait, as a precautionary measure in response to the Iranian threats.
Note prepared using sources from Euronews, Reuters/AFP (L’Orient Today), The Times, Bloomberg, Middle East Monitor, and The New Arab.
