Citi, HSBC and Barclays want their bankers to return to offices 5 days a week due to ‘new regulatory rules’

Citigroup is requiring about 600 U.S. employees who were previously eligible to work remotely to commute to the company’s offices full time, the New York-based company said in a statement Thursday. Even then, most employees will be able to continue working in a hybrid mode, working up to two days a week away from the office, he added.

At HSBC, the rule changes affect about 530 employees in New York – about half the city’s workforce – and the bank is talking to them about their options, Mabel Rius, director of human resources for the U.S. and the Americas, said in an interview. . The company is trying to keep as many people as possible able to log in from home if they want, Rius said. HSBC’s regional boss has said it could avoid a five-day mandate for all employees.

Barclays will require thousands of investment banking employees around the world to spend five days a week in the office or traveling to clients starting June 1, a memo said late Thursday. The decision – after Bloomberg reported that the bank was considering a five-day mandate for more U.S. employees – coincides with “new regulatory policy,” he said.

“Being in the office together drives innovation, collaboration and a stronger culture,” wrote Cathal Deasy and Taylor Wright, co-heads of global investment banking at the firm. “We remain committed to flexible working and recognize that there will be times when you may need to work from home,” they said, adding that group leaders have the discretion to allow occasional flexible working as needed.

Banks are known to be among the most flexible on Wall Street when it comes to allowing employees to continue working remotely after the pandemic. The changes are being introduced as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority – the main regulator of the US brokerage industry – is expected to restore pre-pandemic workplace monitoring rules in the coming weeks.

This could spell the end of remote work for many bank traders and some other deal makers as bosses decide that allowing them to practice under Finra isn’t worth the hassle or cost. Companies like Deutsche Bank AG are assessing the burden as they consider changes to their own policies.

With some bosses blaming Finra’s rules for the new round of five-day mandates, regulators have responded sharply, saying they are in any case trying to provide more, not less, flexibility.

The tension stems from U.S. requirements that banks monitor employees and facilitate periodic workplace inspections. When Covid-19 broke out, regulators initially relaxed some of their rules to ensure people could work from home. Some of these facilities are now ready for sunset.

While Finra said the changes do not require companies to call employees into offices five days a week, it acknowledged that compliance takes work.

Some home offices will need to be listed by regulators as so-called “residential surveillance locations.” The pilot program for these facilities provides for a system of remote inspections at least once every three years, starting in July. Privately, some executives say that keeping up with the requirements can mean a hefty price to pay for an employee’s ability to log in from the comfort of home.

Companies may ultimately come to different conclusions. Other banks are considering a five-day mandate for some employees, people with knowledge of the matter said earlier this week.

Deutsche Bank executives expect the company to be able to remain compliant with regulations with limited impact on its protocols, according to a person familiar with this thinking. Last month, Truist Financial Corp. told investment banking employees that from June 1 they must work in the office every weekday.

Some of the biggest banks on Wall Street – such as Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. — have already adopted five-day commutes at many of their desks, at least in practice if not as a rule. However, some smaller franchises tout flexibility, which can give them an advantage in recruiting and retaining talent.