The Dubai Financial Services Authority has barred HDFC Bank Ltd.’s Dubai branch from onboarding new clients until further notice, India’s largest private lender has told the stock exchanges in Mumbai.
The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) has found that the HDFC Bank branch in Dubai International Finance Centre (DIFC) was offering financial services to clients who were not onboarded by the branch, according to a stock exchange filing on Friday. Additionally, there are issues with onboarding of customers at the branch, and other related matters.
“The prohibition does not apply to existing customers of HDFC Bank Dubai, or onboarding and servicing of clients who may have been previously offered or provided financial services while not being customers of the branch,” HDFC Bank stated in the filing.
The prohibition will stay in place until decided otherwise by DFSA. HDFC Bank claimed no material impact to its financials due to the development.
“The bank has already initiated necessary steps to comply with the directives in the notice, and is committed to work with the DFSA to address the concerns at the earliest,” the filing stated.
HDFC Bank Dubai: Past Scrutiny
{{/usCountry}}“The bank has already initiated necessary steps to comply with the directives in the notice, and is committed to work with the DFSA to address the concerns at the earliest,” the filing stated.
HDFC Bank Dubai: Past Scrutiny
{{/usCountry}}This isn’t the first time HDFC Bank has faced regulatory action in Dubai.
Earlier this year, the Mumbai-based lender came under regulatory scrutiny in the UAE amid allegations that it sold high-risk Credit Suisse bonds to retail investors, many of whom saw their investments wiped out during the Swiss bank’s collapse, the Khaleej Times reported on 27 June 2025.
Documents and legal notices reviewed by the Khaleej Times revealed that clients were sold Additional Tier-1 bonds—a complex, high-risk instrument—despite not meeting the financial or expertise thresholds under DFSA rules. These bonds, issued by the now-defunct Credit Suisse, were written down to zero in March 2023 during its emergency merger with UBS—leaving investors with nothing.
On Friday, HDFC Bank shares fell 0.47% to ₹945.15 apiece on the BSE even as the benchmark Sensex ended the day 0.90% lower at 80,426.46 points.