HSBC will open a wealth centre in Abu Dhabi in December. Its first such hub in the region opened in Dubai last year.

Mohamed Al Marzooqi, who leads the bank in the UAE, told the South China Morning Post that conflict in the region has not hurt demand from its wealth clients.

He said the bank gained many new wealthy clients in the UAE from January to June.

This growth continued after the war involving the US, Israel and Iran began in late February.

In his view, many investors in the region still spread their money across hubs such as Singapore, Hong Kong, London and Geneva.

Yet more of them now choose to keep a larger share of their wealth in the UAE.

The bank has also added new products there. It launched 10 local funds in January.

In June, it rolled out tokenised deposits, which let clients move money in many currencies at any hour.

At its forum in Dubai, HSBC shared a poll of over 1,600 business leaders and 800 institutional investors from 16 markets.

Business leaders still saw geopolitical risk as a key worry. Even so, 88% of them plan to grow in the region over the next four years.

Jo Miyake, who heads banking for Asia and the Middle East at HSBC, said the conflicts may lead some firms to invest at a slower pace. He added that they are not leaving the region.

Separately, HSBC has moved Sami Abouzahr from Hong Kong to the UAE to lead its wealth arm in the region.

Featured image: Edited by Fintech News UAE, based on image by HSBC via its website.