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National Australia Clears Key Office After Employee Gets Virus

National Australia Clears Key Office After Employee Gets Virus

(Bloomberg) --

National Australia Bank Ltd. has evacuated its main Melbourne office after an employee tested positive for the coronavirus, the latest disruption to the financial industry.

The bank has temporarily closed its 700 Bourke Street office for deep cleaning after the staff member on the ground floor was confirmed to be infected, according to a memo from Chief Executive Officer Ross McEwan sent to staff on Tuesday. It aims to have the building, normally home to a few thousand employees, open again later this week.

The pandemic is having a deepening effect on working life throughout Australia. Last week, Westpac Banking Corp. had to clear a floor of its Sydney office after a suspected case, and all major banks have instituted some form of work-from-home policy. On Tuesday, Macquarie Group Ltd. went further and asked the majority of its global employees to work from home on an ongoing basis.

With the number of cases continuing to mount and financial markets in turmoil, financial institutions are preparing for an extended near-lock-down period.

Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. CEO Shayne Elliott conducted a call Monday with experienced and retired staff across the bank about how the institution has handled previous crises and lessons that could be learned, he said in an interview on the bank’s website.

“We’ve gone through lots of crises over the last few decades, whether the Asian financial crisis, global financial crisis and others,” he said. Unlike a typical financial calamity where it is hard to see an end, “with effective policy and swift action, this can be a three, four, five-month impact,” he said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Emily Cadman in Sydney at ecadman2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Marcus Wright at mwright115@bloomberg.net, Russell Ward, Katrina Nicholas

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