**HDFC Bank Barred from Onboarding New Clients in Dubai**
*By Akash Pandey | Sep 27, 2025, 04:34 PM*
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**What’s the story?**
The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) has barred HDFC Bank’s Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) branch from onboarding new clients and providing financial services. This regulatory action stems from concerns regarding the bank’s client onboarding practices.
HDFC Bank has clarified that these operations are not material to its overall business and is taking steps to comply with the DFSA’s directives.
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**Regulatory Action**
The DFSA’s directive prohibits HDFC Bank’s DIFC branch from offering financial services to new clients. This includes advising on financial products, arranging investment deals, extending credit, and offering custody services. Additionally, the branch is barred from making financial promotions aimed at new clients.
It is important to note that these restrictions do not impact existing customers or those who were previously offered but not yet fully onboarded for financial services.
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**Compliance Efforts**
HDFC Bank emphasized that the operations of its DIFC branch are not material to the group’s overall business and financial position. As of September 23, the branch served a total of 1,489 customers, including joint account holders.
The bank has already initiated necessary measures to comply with the DFSA’s directives and is fully committed to cooperating with the ongoing investigation.
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**Investigation Details**
The DFSA’s concerns center around the DIFC branch’s onboarding process, particularly regarding clients who were not fully onboarded according to the jurisdiction’s strict financial rules for “professional clients.”
This development follows a controversy from two years ago related to the alleged mis-selling of high-risk Credit Suisse Additional Tier-1 (AT1) bonds, which has prompted heightened scrutiny of the branch’s practices.
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*Stay tuned for further updates on this developing story.*
https://www.newsbytesapp.com/news/business/uae-regulator-bars-hdfc-from-new-client-onboarding-in-dubai/story