In this interview, Sheheryar Rasul, CEO – Group Wealth Management at Habib Bank AG Zurich, highlights the bank’s client-centric model, DIFC expansion and growing focus on Shariah-compliant wealth solutions as it competes with global players in the Emirates.

In an increasingly crowded private banking landscape in the UAE, how does Habib Bank AG Zurich differentiate itself — particularly when competing against global institutions with deeper balance sheets?

Our model values client service and multigenerational relationships as the foundation of our strategy. We believe this is our “secret sauce”, given the insight and understanding we have of our clients’ needs.

As a family-owned organisation, our shareholders understand this well and appreciate the client perspective — this enables the bank to maintain a genuinely client-centric culture.

Also, our clients are based in countries where we have maintained a presence for multiple decades. This long-standing presence allows us to understand our clients, their regulatory environments, business cultures, and financial needs far more intimately.

HBZ has been expanding its footprint in the UAE, including its presence in DIFC. What is driving that momentum, and how does Dubai fit into your broader regional strategy?

Dubai has the unique advantage of being at the crossroads for our clients. Our DIFC branch has enabled us to engage more closely with them and has shown a significant rise in client footfall.

Being in DIFC has brought us much nearer to our clients in a more personable and consistent manner. Our presence in DIFC, combined with a stable and long-established booking centre in Zurich, has provided our global clients with a highly effective and meaningful private banking platform.

Islamic wealth management continues to gain traction. How significant is Shariah-compliant private banking within HBZ’s growth strategy, and where do you see the biggest opportunities?

Islamic banking has been the cornerstone of HBZ’s GWM strategy. Sharia-compliant solutions are the fastest-growing asset class within the wealth industry, particularly among HBZ’s unique client base, which highly values Islamic offerings for both investment and financing needs.

We have the distinct advantage of a global Islamic brand, Sirat, which has a strong footprint across multiple countries.

Technology is reshaping financial services at speed. How is HBZ balancing digital innovation with the traditional relationship-driven model that private banking is built on?

HBZ continues to invest in its technology infrastructure. The bank has enhanced its core banking system, introduced a state-of-the-art credit and lending platform, and is on the verge of rolling out a new CRM system.

These developments have not only elevated the client experience but have also improved operational efficiency.

We recognise the rapidly evolving expectations of the next generation of clients and continue to invest in our digital platforms for private banking accordingly.

Wealth preservation is becoming increasingly complex for global families with multi-jurisdictional exposure. What role does HBZ play in helping clients structure and safeguard generational wealth?

In today’s world of constantly shifting fiscal policies, tax regimes, cross-border regulations, and globally dispersed family structures, a focus on wealth preservation is essential.

We continue to support our clients through webinars, one-to-one meetings, and next-generation engagement events.

Finally, talent is often the defining factor in private banking. How are you building the next generation of relationship managers, and what cultural values define HBZ internally?

HBZ’s five cultural values are Trust, Integrity, Commitment, Respect, and Responsibility.

These core principles guide the development of our next generation of private bankers. We reinforce them through on-the-job training, structured in-house programmes, and recognition of individuals who exemplify these cultural attributes.

The same approach applies to our recruitment strategy, where we ensure prospective team members fully understand and appreciate these values from the outset.

Editor’s note: Below is a Reuters report from earlier on Saturday that indicated an initial cautious approach.

A group of ships made an unsuccessful attempt to exit the Gulf on Friday evening, ship tracking data showed, as shipping companies cautiously welcomed Iran’s announcement that the Strait of Hormuz is open.

Iranian officials said on Friday that the key waterway was open to all commercial traffic during a 10-day ceasefire in Lebanon, triggering a drop in oil and other commodity prices and lifting stock markets.

Around 20 vessels began sailing towards the Strait of Hormuz on Friday evening but soon halted, with some turning back, MarineTraffic data showed. It was the largest group of vessels to attempt the transit since Iran effectively closed the strait in response to US-Israeli strikes that began on February 28.

It was not immediately clear why the ships stopped. The group included three container ships operated by French shipping group CMA CGM, which declined to comment.

As of 2100 GMT, most vessels in the group had turned back, but tracking data showed several new ships, mainly tankers, heading towards the strait.

Shipping companies cautiously welcomed Iran’s announcement but said they needed further clarifications before resuming transits, particularly around security risks such as the presence of sea mines.

All commercial ships, including US-flagged vessels, can pass through the strait, but transit plans must be coordinated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a senior Iranian official told Reuters.

Ships would be confined to lanes deemed safe by Iran, while military vessels would remain barred, the official said.

“We are currently verifying the recent announcement related to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, in terms of its compliance with freedom of navigation for all merchant vessels and secure passage,” said Arsenio Dominguez, secretary-general of the UN’s shipping agency, the International Maritime Organization.

Uncertainty persists

Norway’s Shipowners’ Association said key issues remained unresolved, including the presence of mines, Iranian conditions and how the measures would be implemented in practice.

“If this represents a step towards an opening, it is a welcome development,” said CEO Knut Arild Hareide.

Shipping group BIMCO cautioned members against returning too quickly, citing uncertainty over mine threats. A US Navy advisory seen by Reuters also warned about the danger of mines.

German shipping firm Hapag-Lloyd, however, said it was working to resume transit “as soon as possible” but noted that several outstanding questions remained.

Its Danish peer Maersk said it was closely monitoring the situation. Norwegian oil tanker group Frontline declined to comment.

Matt Wright, lead freight analyst at data intelligence firm Kpler, also said it remained uncertain which sea lanes the ships could take to exit the Gulf.

A recent route imposed by Tehran through its territorial waters near Larak Island would present navigational challenges even if vessels were not required to pay a toll and would raise questions regarding compliance and insurance, he added.

A growing “trust gap” in enterprise artificial intelligence (AI) is threatening the scalability of next-generation systems, with most organisations struggling to meet the data and governance requirements needed for reliable deployment, according to a new global report.

The AI Trust Gap Report by Denodo, based on a survey of 850 enterprise leaders, finds that while AI is rapidly evolving into “agentic” systems capable of autonomous decision-making, organisations are falling short in three critical areas: access to live data, identifying the right data, and implementing governance guardrails.

The findings come at a time when enterprises are pushing to move AI beyond experimentation into operational workflows, where systems must act in real time and interact directly with business processes.

Real-time data emerges as a critical bottleneck

The report highlights a significant disconnect between enterprise expectations and current capabilities. Around 66 per cent of organisations say AI systems require real-time data to be trustworthy, yet most existing data architectures are not designed to deliver sub-minute latency.

Nearly half of respondents expect data to be available in real time, while only a small minority can rely on historical-only datasets.

This gap is becoming more pronounced as AI systems move into operational roles such as customer service, compliance monitoring, and supply chain optimisation—areas where delayed or outdated data can directly impact outcomes.

Beyond access, identifying and preparing the “right data” continues to be a major challenge. The report finds that 63 per cent of organisations struggle to determine which data is trustworthy or relevant for AI use cases.

Survey insights show that the top data-related challenges include identifying relevant data sources (34 per cent), integrating them (33 per cent), and managing delays caused by data issues (29 per cent).

The problem is compounded by inconsistent business definitions across systems. Variations in how terms such as “customer” or “risk” are defined can lead to conflicting interpretations, undermining AI outputs and decision-making.

Enterprise AI initiatives are also becoming increasingly complex, drawing on an average of more than 400 data sources, with some organisations accessing over 1,000.

This multi-source reality, detailed in the distribution chart on page 12, significantly increases the difficulty of maintaining consistency, governance, and performance across systems—particularly in hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

Governance and security gaps hinder trust

The report identifies governance as another major barrier, with 67 per cent of respondents citing complexity in AI data security and access controls.

Ensuring consistent policy enforcement across distributed systems remains a challenge, particularly as AI agents gain the ability to take autonomous actions. Weak guardrails can expose organisations to risks ranging from compliance breaches to unintended system actions.

The findings align with broader industry concerns, with security frameworks increasingly warning about risks such as “excessive agency” in AI systems.

Even organisations that have invested in modern data platforms are facing operational constraints. Nearly 60 per cent report difficulty optimising performance for AI workloads, highlighting the limits of existing lakehouse and data catalog solutions.

The report notes that agentic AI systems are inherently cost-intensive, often requiring repeated data retrieval, tool execution, and audit logging—raising concerns about long-term economic viability.

The findings reinforce wider industry trends, with the report noting that many organisations are struggling to translate AI adoption into scaled outcomes. Independent estimates suggest that a significant share of agentic AI projects could be abandoned due to rising costs, unclear value, and inadequate risk controls.

To bridge the trust gap, the report calls for a fundamental rethink of enterprise data strategies, emphasising the need for:

• Real-time access to operational data
• Semantic consistency across systems
• Centralised governance and policy enforcement
• Cost and performance optimisation at scale

The study concludes that without these capabilities, enterprises risk stalling AI initiatives at the pilot stage, limiting their ability to deliver measurable business outcomes.

Air travel across the Middle East remains disrupted, with airlines globally cancelling flights, delaying restarts and reducing schedules as the fallout from the Iran war continues to impact key aviation hubs including Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi.

Here is the latest airline-by-airline breakdown (this article has been updated on April 18, 2026):

AEGEAN AIRLINES

Greece’s largest carrier cancelled flights to Riyadh and Amman until June 27 and to Tel Aviv and Beirut until June 26. It cancelled flights to Erbil and Baghdad until July 2 and to Dubai until June 29.

AIRBALTIC

Latvia’s airBaltic says flights to Tel Aviv have been cancelled until May 31. Flights to Dubai are cancelled until October 24.

AIR CANADA

The Canadian carrier has cancelled flights to Tel Aviv and Dubai until September 7.

AIR EUROPA

The Spanish airline has cancelled flights to Tel Aviv until May 31.

AIR FRANCE-KLM

Air France has suspended its Tel Aviv, Beirut, Dubai and Riyadh flights until May 3.

KLM has suspended flights to Riyadh and Dammam until May 17 and to Dubai until June 14.

CATHAY PACIFIC

The Hong Kong airline has suspended flights to Dubai and Riyadh until June 30 and cargo freighter services to Dubai and Riyadh until May 31. To cater for a surge in demand to Europe, it will operate extra passenger flights to London, Paris and Zurich in April. It plans to operate all scheduled flights beyond June.

DELTA

The US carrier has cancelled its New York–Tel Aviv flights and delayed the restart of its Atlanta–Tel Aviv route until September 5. It said the launch of its Boston–Tel Aviv route, planned for late October, has been delayed until further notice.

EL AL ISRAEL AIRLINES

The Israeli carrier said customers who planned to depart Israel through April 18 have had their flights cancelled, including relevant return flights.

It will increase the number of destinations to about 30 from April 13 and will gradually expand that number through the rest of the month.

EMIRATES

The UAE airline has said it is operating a reduced flight schedule, flying to more than 100 destinations.

ETIHAD AIRWAYS

The UAE carrier has said it is operating a commercial flight schedule between Abu Dhabi and around 80 destinations.

FINNAIR

The Finnish carrier has cancelled its Doha flights until July 2, while continuing to avoid the airspace of Iraq, Iran, Syria and Israel. The airline only restarts its Dubai flights in October.

IAG

IAG-owned British Airways is reducing flights to the Middle East when services resume, permanently dropping Jeddah as a destination, while adding capacity to India and Africa.

It plans to reduce services to Dubai, Doha and Tel Aviv to one daily flight from July 1, and to cut Riyadh services from two daily flights to one from mid-May. Changes apply through the summer season that ends on October 24, with one Dubai service restarting on October 16.

IAG’s Spanish low-cost airline Iberia Express has cancelled flights to Tel Aviv through May 31.

JAPAN AIRLINES

Japan Airlines has suspended scheduled Tokyo–Doha flights until May 10 and Doha–Tokyo flights until May 11. The airline also announced extra flights between Tokyo and London on April 25.

LOT

The Polish airline suspended its flights to Tel Aviv until May 31. It also cancelled flights to Riyadh until June 30 and to Beirut from March 31 to May 30. The airline plans to operate its winter route to Dubai in October.

LUFTHANSA GROUP

Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Edelweiss suspended flights to Dubai and Tel Aviv until May 31, and to Abu Dhabi, Amman, Beirut, Dammam, Riyadh, Erbil, Muscat and Tehran until October 24. Lufthansa Cargo is the same, except for the Tel Aviv suspension, which will last through April 30.

ITA Airways has extended the suspension of flights to and from Tel Aviv and Riyadh until May 10. Flights to and from Dubai are suspended until May 31.

Low-cost carrier Eurowings plans to suspend flights to Tel Aviv, Beirut and Erbil through April 30 and to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Amman through October 24.

MALAYSIA AIRLINES

The Malaysian carrier suspended flights to Doha until June 14.

NORWEGIAN AIR

The low-cost airline has pushed back planned launches of its Tel Aviv and Beirut services to June 15.

PEGASUS AIRLINES

Turkey’s Pegasus Airlines cancelled its Iran, Iraq, Amman, Beirut, Kuwait, Bahrain, Doha, Dammam, Riyadh, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah flights until May 1.

ROYAL AIR MAROC

The Moroccan carrier says flights to Doha are cancelled until June 30 and those to Dubai until May 31.

QANTAS

Australia’s flag carrier is adding flights to Rome and Paris to meet an upswing in demand for European routes. Flights to Paris will increase to five return flights per week from three and the Perth–Singapore service will increase from daily to 10 flights per week. An updated schedule will come into effect progressively for flights from mid-April and run until late July.

QATAR AIRWAYS

The carrier said it was expanding its international flight network, with services to more than 150 destinations from June 16.

SINGAPORE AIRLINES

The carrier extended its Singapore–Dubai flights suspension until May 31, while adding services on the Singapore–London Gatwick and Singapore–Melbourne routes from late March until October 24 to meet higher demand.

TURKISH AIRLINES

SunExpress, Turkish Airlines’ joint venture with Lufthansa, has cancelled flights to Dubai until April 30.

WIZZ AIR

The low-cost airline is delaying the return of flights to Israel until May 4, and is suspending flights to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Amman from mainland European destinations until mid-September. All flights to Medina have been suspended indefinitely.

What this means for travellers

Expect ongoing delays and cancellations across key routes. Summer schedules remain uncertain, with many airlines planning reduced frequencies. Higher fares likely as capacity shifts to Europe and Asia

Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said the Strait of Hormuz was open following a ceasefire accord agreed in Lebanon, while US president Donald Trump said he believed a deal to end the Iran war would come “soon”, although the timing remains unclear.

Araqchi said in a post on X the Strait was open for all commercial vessels for the remainder of the US-brokered 10-day truce between Israeli forces and Iran agreed on Thursday between Israel and Lebanon.

He said the passage of ships would need to be along the route that Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organisation had announced.

The US-Israeli conflict with Iran, which started on February 28, has killed thousands of people. The conflict also effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas usually transits, threatening the worst oil shock in history.

Read more-Oil prices rise on doubts US-Iran peace talks will ease Hormuz disruption

Oil prices fell by about 9 per cent, extending earlier losses, following Araqchi’s post.

The International Monetary Fund this week lowered its forecasts for global growth and warned the global economy risked tipping into recession if the conflict was prolonged.

US blockade remains in place

Shortly after Araqchi’s statement, Trump posted on Truth Social: “IRAN HAS JUST ANNOUNCED THAT THE STRAIT OF IRAN IS FULLY OPEN AND READY FOR PASSAGE”.

However, Trump said the US military blockade of ships sailing through the Strait to Iranian ports – announced after talks with Iran last weekend in the Pakistani capital Islamabad ended without agreement – remained in place.

He said that blockade will remain in full force until “our transaction with Iran is 100 per cent complete”, which he said should happen very quickly given that most points were already negotiated.

Trump had said on Thursday that talks could happen as soon as this weekend, although that was looking increasingly unlikely by Friday afternoon given the logistics of assembling officials in Islamabad, where the talks are expected to take place.

Despite Trump’s optimism, Iranian sources told Reuters on Friday that some “gaps remained to be resolved” before reaching a preliminary deal and senior clerics leading Friday prayers struck a defiant tone.

In Islamabad, troops were seen along routes leading into the capital on Friday, but roads were still open and the government had not issued orders for businesses to shut down, as they did prior to the last meeting.

Backdoor diplomacy progress

A Pakistani source involved in mediating between the US and Iran said on Friday there was progress in backdoor diplomacy and that an upcoming meeting between the two sides could result in the signing of a memorandum of understanding, followed by a comprehensive deal within 60 days.

“Both sides are agreeing in principle. And technical bits come later,” the source said on condition of anonymity.

One of the key sticking points has been over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, with the US proposing at last weekend’s talks a 20-year suspension of all Iranian nuclear activity. Tehran suggested a halt of three to five years, according to people familiar with the proposals.

Iran has demanded international sanctions on it be lifted and Washington has pressed for any highly enriched uranium to be removed from Iran. Two Iranian sources have said there were signs of a compromise on the HEU stockpile, with Tehran considering shipping part of it out of the country.

Trump told reporters outside the White House on Thursday that Iran had agreed to “give us back the nuclear dust”, but Iran’s state media outlet Mizan disputed that claim on Friday, highlighting ongoing differences.

No negotiation regarding the “transfer of Iran’s highly enriched uranium to America had ever taken place, and naturally there is no agreement on this matter either”, it said, citing sources.

Lebanon ceasefire goes into effect

The US-backed ceasefire agreed between Israel and Lebanon to end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah appeared to be largely holding on Friday, despite some Lebanese Army reports of violations by Israel.

Mediator Pakistan said on Thursday that a parallel ceasefire in Lebanon was an essential component of any talks on a deal to end the conflict in Iran.

The conflict in Lebanon was reignited on March 2 when Hezbollah opened fire on northern Israel in support of Tehran, prompting an Israeli offensive that authorities say has killed 2,000 people.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the reported ceasefire violations on Friday.