Banks scramble to ensure safety of workers in Middle East

Evacuees from the Middle East disembark a military aircraft after it landed at Seoul Air Base in Gyeonggi Province, Sunday. Operation Desert Shine, carried out jointly by the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, brought back more than 200 citizens from Saudi Arabia amid the ongoing U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. Joint Press Corps

Korean banks with operations in the Middle East are rushing to secure the safety of their employees as the U.S.-Israel war against Iran spreads across the region, industry officials said Monday.

No Korean financial institutions in the region have reported direct damage so far, but banks have begun relocating staff from conflict-affected areas and shifting operations to remote work, they said.

Shinhan Bank's branch in Dubai currently has 11 employees, including three Korean staff members and eight locally hired workers, all working remotely. Families of the Korean employees have already returned to Korea.

"The branch has remained closed and is currently conducting only non-face-to-face operations," a Shinhan Bank official said. "No employees have been injured or suffered damage, and we are checking the safety of our staff through real-time communication channels."

Concerns intensified after buildings in the Dubai International Financial Centre were hit in an Iranian airstrike last Thursday, 500 meters from the building where Shinhan Bank's branch is located.

Woori Bank, whose Dubai branch is located about 1 kilometer from the site of the strike, has also taken precautionary measures.

Korean employees at the Dubai branch have relocated to the bank's Mumbai office in India and are continuing their work there, while locally hired staff have shifted to remote work, Woori said.

Workers from the Bahrain branch have relocated to its European subsidiary in Frankfurt, Germany, where they are continuing operations.

"Since the early stages of the crisis, we have been paying close attention to ensuring the safety of our employees," a Woori Bank official said.

Hana Bank operates three channels in the Middle East — a branch in Bahrain and two others in the United Arab Emirates.

At its Bahrain branch, employees were relocated to neighboring Saudi Arabia as the security situation deteriorated. The bank plans to move them to a backup office in another country in the near future and continue its services for Korean firms operating in the Middle East.

In the UAE, the Abu Dhabi and Dubai branches are continuing operations. Essential staff are working at the offices while the remaining employees are working remotely, allowing both locations to maintain normal operations.

If tensions escalate further, Hana plans to relocate the remaining Korean staff in the Middle East to its Mumbai branch in India or to London, where its Europe-Middle East headquarters is located.

"Families of employees at our Middle East branches are returning to Korea under a prearranged evacuation plan, with all expected to return by the end of this week," a Hana Bank official said.