Global Banks Shift Riyadh Staff to Work From Home as Houthi Strikes Rattle Saudi Arabia

Global banks including JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank are letting staff in Riyadh work from home after a week of Houthi missile and drone strikes raised security fears across Saudi Arabia, Reuters reported, while US investment firm Franklin Templeton has temporarily closed its office in the Saudi capital.

The moves are among the clearest signs yet that the escalating Houthi campaign is unsettling the kingdom's push to become a global business and investment hub, with banks, conference organisers and parents alike changing their plans.

Main News Report

Three people familiar with the matter told Reuters that JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank are allowing their Saudi Arabia-based staff to work from home following the recent Houthi strikes. Franklin Templeton has gone further, temporarily closing its Riyadh office and asking all staff based there to work from home until further notice, with no end date set.

Citi said earlier this week that it too was letting employees in the kingdom work from home. "The safety of our employees and the families of our employees have always been our top priority," chief financial officer Gonzalo Luchetti told reporters after an earnings call on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

• Who: JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank, Citi and Franklin Templeton — major global finance firms with offices in Riyadh.
• What: Work-from-home arrangements for Saudi-based staff; Franklin Templeton's Riyadh office temporarily closed.
• Since when: JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank introduced the flexibility from Sunday, the day after the deadly Riyadh airport strike; both offices remain open for staff who wish to use them.
• Why: Escalating Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, including the strike on Aramco's headquarters and the airport attack that killed at least 13 people.
• Also affected: The kingdom moved to online schooling this week — one source said the home-working flexibility would partly help parents.

Background Context

The strikes are part of a sharp Houthi escalation against Saudi Arabia over the past week. The Iran-aligned group fired at Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport on Saturday, killing at least 13 people and wounding more than 300 in the deadliest attack in the kingdom in over a decade, and on Tuesday hit the headquarters of Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil company.

The Houthis say they are retaliating for the kingdom's backing of Yemeni government forces in a Yemen war reignited by the US-Israeli war against Iran. Saudi Arabia has attempted to cast itself as a safe international investment hub under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030 diversification plan — a reputation the current wave of attacks is now directly testing.

Reactions and Statements

Franklin Templeton: The US investment firm has temporarily closed its Riyadh office and asked all staff based there to work from home until further notice, one of the sources told Reuters. No end date has been set for the new arrangements.

Citi: CFO Gonzalo Luchetti said on Tuesday that the bank was allowing employees in the kingdom to work from home, adding: "The safety of our employees and the families of our employees have always been our top priority."

JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank: Both banks offered staff home working from Sunday, the day after the airport attack, although both offices remain open for business for those who want to use them, two of the sources said.

Houthis: The group has vowed more attacks on Saudi airports and oil facilities, declaring them legitimate military targets in retaliation against Saudi strikes on Yemen.

Saudi government: Reuters said the Saudi government did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.

Why This News Matters

Saudi Arabia has spent years and billions trying to lure international banks, asset managers and executives to Riyadh as part of its bid to diversify away from oil. When the world's biggest financial firms start sending staff home and shutting offices — even temporarily — it signals that the security premium businesses demand to operate in the kingdom is rising fast.

The fallout is already spreading beyond banking: the strikes have disrupted the Gulf's busy September-to-December conference season, and Reuters has reported that Saudi Arabia plans to shift its flagship Future Investment Initiative conference later this month to a hybrid event so executives can tune in remotely.

Future Developments

The key question now is whether the Houthis carry through on their vow to keep striking airports and oil facilities — or whether diplomacy, deterrence or exhaustion pulls the kingdom's adversary back from the brink. Franklin Templeton's open-ended closure suggests at least some firms are preparing for weeks, not days, of disruption.

Executives, parents and policymakers will also be watching whether other multinationals follow the banks' lead, and whether the move to online schooling — which one source said helped drive the work-from-home decisions — gets extended.

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