Standard Chartered Rejects Reports of Shutting Down Offices in Dubai

Standard Chartered has denied reports that it evacuated employees from its Dubai offices, saying staff have been working remotely as a precautionary measure since last week and those arrangements have simply been extended.

"Reports that Standard Chartered evacuated staff from its Dubai offices are not accurate," the bank said in an official statement posted on March 11. The bank made clear that a work-from-home policy was already in place before the media reports surfaced and that what happened was an extension of existing arrangements, not a sudden evacuation response.

The statement came after Reuters reported that Standard Chartered had begun moving employees out of its Dubai premises. That initial report cited two unnamed sources and said the move came after Iran threatened to target banks in the Gulf with ties to the US and Israel.

Standard Chartered pushed back quickly and directly. Within hours of the Reuters report, the bank's UAE account on X posted a clarification stating the evacuation framing was inaccurate.

Standard Chartered's Dubai Operations Stay Normal

The bank's regional chief executive, Rola Abu Manneh, who oversees operations across the UAE, Middle East, and Pakistan, also addressed the reports through a post on a professional networking platform. She confirmed that banking services remain fully operational, attributing the smooth continuity to the bank's existing business continuity arrangements. She also thanked colleagues for their professionalism and clients for their continued trust during an uncertain period.

In its formal statement, Standard Chartered said employee safety remains its top priority while normal client services continue uninterrupted. "Our focus is the safety and well-being of our colleagues. With this in mind, we are maintaining normal service under work-from-home arrangements in the Middle East," the bank said.

The bank also reaffirmed its long-term commitment to the region. The UAE and other Middle East markets, it said, remain a core part of its global network, and the bank continues to support clients working through what it described as a complex and fast-moving environment. It did not provide a timeline for when staff might return to offices.

Other Global Banks Also Working Remotely in Dubai

Standard Chartered is not the only global bank to shift its operating model in Dubai amid the current regional tensions. Citigroup instructed its Dubai-based employees to work from home until further notice. Goldman Sachs staff across the region are also working remotely, according to Reuters. Neither bank has issued a public statement contradicting the work-from-home characterization the way Standard Chartered did.

HSBC chief executive Georges Elhedery said earlier this week that the bank's outlook for Gulf Cooperation Council economies remains unchanged. "Our conviction in the GCC's fundamentals and its future is unchanged," he said, signaling that at least some global lenders remain confident in the region's economic stability even as security conditions create operational uncertainty.

The broader backdrop is important. Iran has threatened to strike economic and banking interests linked to the US and Israel in the Gulf, following what Tehran described as an attack on an Iranian bank. That warning set off a wave of precautionary responses across financial institutions with significant footprints in the region.

Dubai sits at the center of all this. The city is home to the regional headquarters of dozens of global banks, law firms, and asset managers, most of them operating out of the Dubai International Financial Centre. The emirate has grown into one of the world's most connected financial hubs, linking markets across Europe, Asia, and Africa. For institutions like Standard Chartered, Dubai is not a peripheral outpost but a core node in their global operations.

For Standard Chartered specifically, the UAE represents a strategic anchor in its Middle East business. The bank has a substantial local presence and uses the country as a base for supporting clients across a wide corridor of emerging markets. Losing that presence, even temporarily, would carry real operational weight. Which is likely why the bank moved so quickly to correct the record.

As of now, Standard Chartered's position is firm: the offices are not shut down, staff are working from home by design, and services continue without disruption.