Amid ongoing attacks by Iran on Gulf cities, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup have instructed their staff in Dubai to avoid coming into the office.
According to informed sources, Goldman Sachs has mandated that employees must obtain approval before entering any of its offices across the Middle East. Separately, Standard Chartered also asked employees at the Dubai International Financial Centre and nearby areas to leave their offices on Wednesday.
Citigroup, in a memo to staff, advised, "Please proceed to the nearest safe location away from the office," and instructed employees to "work from home until further notice." A spokesperson for the bank confirmed the contents of the memo.
Since the outbreak of the conflict, several Wall Street banks have permitted employees in the UAE to work remotely. Previous reports indicated that some banks have also offered staff the option to temporarily leave the country.
A representative for Goldman Sachs declined to comment. A spokesperson for the Dubai International Financial Centre stated that the centre had not issued an evacuation order. ICD Brookfield Place, one of the largest commercial buildings in the centre, confirmed that it remains operational as usual.
Citigroup stated in a release that all employees have been confirmed safe and continue to provide uninterrupted services to clients.
"The majority of our staff in the UAE have been working remotely, and we have now extended this remote working arrangement to all colleagues in the UAE," Citigroup said in a statement. "Out of an abundance of caution, we have decided to evacuate three office buildings in the UAE."
Standard Chartered said it is closely monitoring developments but emphasized in a statement that the UAE and other markets in the Gulf region "remain an important part of our global network."
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