BofA has moved some of its employees recently, and is in the process of moving others, across different units of the bank, the sources said, declining to be identified as the matter is not public.
BofA declined to comment when contacted by Reuters on Tuesday.
Duba, an important financial and commercial center of the Gulf, is a favorite place for bankers who leave Russia to settle there.
JP Morgan, Rothschild & Co and Goldman Sachs all relocated some of their Russian-based staff earlier this year.
Sanctions imposed on Russia since its invasion of Ukraine on February 24 include the country’s exclusion from the SWIFT banking system and the targeting of individuals such as oligarchs deemed close to President Vladimir Putin.
The moves come amid a business boom in the Gulf region this year, with high oil prices and IPOs raising more than $11 billion in the first half of the year, outpacing IPOs. markets, even as global markets remain volatile.
The Gulf Arab states have so far taken a neutral stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. They have deep ties to Russia through corporate stakes and the OPEC+ oil cartel.
The United Arab Emirates, which over the years has deepened its ties with Russia, has not aligned itself with the sanctions imposed by Western nations and its central bank has so far not issued any guidelines regarding Western sanctions.