The Dubai Monetary Companies Authority (DFSA) has barred HDFC Financial institution’s Dubai Worldwide Monetary Centre (DIFC) department from soliciting or conducting enterprise with new shoppers, efficient September 26.
The restriction covers all “monetary providers” — together with advising on monetary merchandise, arranging offers in investments, arranging credit score, advising on credit score, arranging custody, and soliciting, onboarding, or partaking in any monetary promotions with new shoppers, the financial institution stated in an alternate submitting.
In accordance with the submitting, violations on the DIFC department included offering monetary providers comparable to advising or arranging monetary merchandise and credit score for patrons not onboarded by the DIFC department, points with buyer onboarding, and different associated issues.
HDFC Financial institution clarified that the DIFC department’s enterprise shouldn’t be materials to the financial institution’s general operations or monetary place, and due to this fact no vital influence is predicted. “As of September 23, 2025, the DIFC department has 1,489 clients onboarded, together with joint holders,” it stated. The prohibition doesn’t have an effect on servicing of present clients or onboarding of shoppers who have been already provided monetary providers earlier than being formally onboarded.
The financial institution added that it has initiated steps to adjust to the directive and is dedicated to working with the DFSA to remediate the issues on the earliest. The prohibition will stay in pressure till amended or revoked in writing by the DFSA.
The DFSA is the impartial regulator of monetary providers carried out in or from the DIFC, a purpose-built monetary free zone in Dubai, UAE.
HDFC Financial institution opened its DIFC department on August 4, 2014, to offer wealth administration providers to the big Indian diaspora within the Gulf metropolis. This was the financial institution’s third abroad department after Bahrain and Hong Kong. Within the UAE, HDFC Financial institution additionally has consultant places of work in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, in addition to one in Kenya.
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The DIFC department gives advisory and wealth administration providers to NRIs within the UAE, together with treasury merchandise, commerce finance, loans, and associated providers. The Bahrain and Hong Kong branches present company banking, commerce finance, loans, and deposits to corporates and ultra-high-net-worth people.
The DFSA’s regulatory mandate spans asset administration, banking and credit score providers, securities, collective funding funds, custody and belief providers, commodities futures buying and selling, Islamic finance, insurance coverage, a global equities alternate, and a global commodities derivatives alternate. It additionally supervises and enforces anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) necessities relevant throughout the DIFC.
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