LONDON, March 11, 2026, 15:40 GMT
Standard Chartered shares slipped in London Wednesday after two sources said the lender started pulling staff from its Dubai offices and instructed employees to work remotely, following Iran’s warning that it would target U.S.- and Israeli-linked banks in the region. According to delayed market data, the stock was recently down 1.25% at 1,664 pence in the afternoon.
This isn’t a sideshow for the bank anymore. Gulf markets are central, with Standard Chartered’s global head of investor relations, Manus Costello, pointing out to Reuters back in February that business volumes linking China and the Middle East jumped 18% last year. That uptick highlights just how heavily the lender is relying on cross-border flows in this region.
The stock lagged behind the main UK index, but Barclays’ drop was steeper. By late morning, the FTSE 100 slipped 0.6%, according to Reuters. Barclays lost 1.5% based on delayed UK figures, while HSBC eased 0.5%.
StanChart began relocating employees from its Dubai offices, two sources said, as Gulf firms switched to remote work following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. HSBC shut its Qatar branches for now, but Chief Executive Georges Elhedery on Monday reaffirmed the bank’s unchanged confidence in Gulf fundamentals.
Energy risk kept the region in focus. “The war in Iran and the impact on energy prices is still the predominant focus,” said Kyle Chapman, foreign-exchange analyst at Ballinger Group. UBS strategist Shahab Jalinoos called the recent price action “much more of a forward-looking story.” Reuters
That’s part of the reason investors aren’t giving much weight to February’s rosier capital returns. Standard Chartered and Morgan Stanley on Tuesday postponed their Bank of England rate cut forecasts to the second quarter, citing a surge in oil and gas—up roughly 50% and 90% respectively since late February, according to StanChart’s numbers.
This sharp pullback comes barely two weeks after Standard Chartered posted a 16% jump in full-year pretax profit, rolled out a $1.5 billion buyback and hiked its full-year dividend by 65%. Still, shares haven’t come close to recovering—Tuesday’s close at 1,685 pence lags well behind the February 3 high of 1,924 pence.
Another risk has surfaced. On Wednesday, liquidators for Malaysia’s 1MDB said they’re looking at “possible workarounds” following a Singapore court’s decision to uphold the dismissal of their attempt to sue Standard Chartered and BSI for alleged fraud. That keeps a longstanding legal cloud hanging over the bank, just as it’s hit with a new operating jolt in Dubai. Reuters
Standard Chartered shares swung from 1,657.5p up to 1,680p on Wednesday, based on delayed market data, with around 3.9 million shares changing hands. The stock ended weaker than Tuesday’s close, as traders took in the Gulf security jitters swirling around a bank that only recently kicked off March with stronger profits and new returns for shareholders.
