HDFC's Dubai Branch Operations Barred By UAE Regulator From New Client Onboarding, Bank Responds

Dubai: The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) on Saturday banned HDFC Bank‘s Dubai branch from onboarding new customers, claimed media reports. The bank said that its Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) branch received a formal request from the DFSA in this regard.

As per the notice dated September 25, 2025, the DIFC branch has been barred from conducting business with new customers, those who have not completed the onboarding process at the time when the directive was passed.

The DFSA also imposed restrictions on the DIFC on providing advice of financial products, custody-related services, arranging or advising on credit, and arranging investment deals, reported The Financial Express.

HDFC's Dubai branch has also been directed not to engage in financial promotions. Meanwhile, existing customers can continue to avail the service. As per the report, the clients who had previously received financial services but were not formally onboarded can be allowed to avail the services of the bank.

Responding to the development, the bank said that the DFSA's decision will not have any financial impact on the DIFC branch’s operations, as they are not material to its overall business and financial position. Till September 23 this year, the branch had 1,489 customers, including joint account holders, reported The Economic Times.

"The bank has already initiated necessary steps to comply with the directives in the above-referred notice and is committed to work with the DFSA in its ongoing investigation and to promptly remediate and address the DFSA concerns at the earliest," the company said in a statement.

“The business undertaken at the DIFC Branch is not material to the Bank’s operations or its financial position and accordingly no material impact/implications are expected with respect to the overall operations or financial position of the Bank,” it added.

The development came amid a two-year-old controversy over the alleged mis-selling of high-risk Credit Suisse additional tier-1 (AT1) bonds by the bank. Investors claimed that the bank was pushing the products through its UAE operations.