By Elena Vasquez

Barclays opened a new office in Riyadh despite UK travel advice that King Khalid International Airport, 22 miles north of the capital, remains at risk of further attacks.

The UK-headquartered bank said on Monday that the new hub in Riyadh’s financial district will support its regional expansion, while official warnings said conflict-related airport disruption could continue across the region.

What does the Saudi travel warning cover?

The Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel to parts of Saudi Arabia. Its government website says King Khalid International Airport was attacked last month and “continues to be targeted and remains at risk of further attacks.”

Since early July, the Houthis, a military group in Yemen, have launched missiles and drones at several locations in Saudi Arabia. The same government advice warns: “Further attacks against airports as well as disruption and cancellations are very likely.”

Those warnings establish a security constraint around a commercial decision to place staff and banking operations inside the Saudi capital. Barclays has nevertheless proceeded, making the Riyadh opening a bet on the durability of the market despite elevated travel and operating risk.

Why did Barclays choose Riyadh?

Barclays wants to build out business in the region, the bank said on Monday. The move positions the bank to support clients in the region while the US-Iran war that began earlier this year has forced other international lenders to evacuate staff or suspend branches.

C.S. Venkatakrishnan said the office would strengthen Barclays’s ability to support clients in the region and “reaffirm our commitment to Saudi Arabia’s future.” The statement frames the hub as part of Barclays’s long-term regional strategy.

For clients, the strategic logic is local access. The bank’s willingness to operate from Riyadh despite the warnings signals that it sees the commercial case for a Saudi presence as stronger than the immediate disruption risk.

How have peers changed their regional exposure?

Other international banks have reduced their physical exposure since the US-Iran war began earlier this year, as strikes and wider hostilities affected the region.

• Standard Chartered, headquartered in London, switched staff in its Dubai offices to remote working in March as hostilities spilled across the region.
• Citigroup, a US financial giant, told staff to evacuate the area as the conflict grew.
• HSBC chief executive Georges Elhedery closed branches in Qatar as strike action ramped up.

Together, those moves show how regional insecurity can override established banking footprints. Barclays is moving in the opposite direction, adding a Riyadh hub even as peers prioritize staff safety and operational continuity elsewhere.

Has the conflict eased enough for banks?

The conflict has eased over recent weeks amid renewed diplomatic hopes after American voters handed Donald Trump’s governing party a crushing defeat in the US midterm elections. Trump has since said further strikes were highly unlikely, but analysts and investors have remained cautious.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there had been no breakthrough in talks. The diplomatic improvement has therefore not removed the central uncertainty for banks: whether de-escalation holds while they maintain operations across the region.

The UK government’s position remains firmly cautious: “The wider context in the Middle East remains deeply unpredictable and the risk of sudden escalation is high.”

That tension defines Barclays’s Riyadh bet. The bank is signalling confidence in Saudi Arabia’s future and a willingness to absorb higher security and travel risk, but the official advice leaves the expansion vulnerable to renewed disruption.