BNP Plans to Have 60% of NYC Staff Back in Office in Early 2022

(Bloomberg) -- BNP Paribas SA’s U.S. unit plans to have 60% of staff back in its midtown Manhattan office early next year. 

“We are really asking and more specifically incentivizing our staff to come back on premises,” Jean-Yves Fillion, chief executive officer of BNP Paribas USA, said in an interview Wednesday on Bloomberg Television. “Nothing replaces the in-person relationship and connectivity. It’s very complicated to convey companies’ values digitally.”

The Paris-based bank already has more than 30% of staff back on a rotational basis in New York and is targeting 40% by the end of the year, Fillion said. The financial industry has been at the vanguard of corporate America’s push to refill office towers this year after 2020’s pandemic lockdowns launched the work-from-home era. 

“We are trying to make the office attractive,” Fillion said. “We have to provide value for employees to enjoy being back on the premises and management is very focused on it.”

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