Crisis management for S’pore banks, fund managers in Dubai as conflict sparks anxiety among clients

It is still very early to assess the longer-term implications for wealth flows into other safe havens including Singapore. Read more at straitstimes.com.

SINGAPORE - It has been a week of crisis management and client reassurance for private bankers in Dubai, as Iranian missile strikes tested confidence in the Gulf’s financial hub.

Many fielded calls and text messages from anxious clients on asset safety and contingency plans after Iranian missiles pelted the city over the weekend, according to Singapore-based fund managers and banks who spoke to The Straits Times.

No mass cash withdrawals were reported even as relationship managers at global banks in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) – host to 500 wealth management firms – received more than their usual volume of calls from high-net-worth individuals seeking reassurance that their money is safe.

Clients asked about contingency plans and shifting funds out of the United Arab Emirates “just in case” the Gulf War escalated, some bankers said.

Dubai is caught in the crossfire between Iran and joint United States-Israel forces after a coordinated strike on Feb 28 killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, along with several senior officials.

Within hours, Iran responded with missile and drone strikes towards US military bases and strategic locations across the Gulf, including airspace over several GCC countries which comprise the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.