Credit Suisse Staff Told to Expect Return to Work in Phases

(Bloomberg) -- Credit Suisse Group AG employees have been told to expect to return to offices in four phases as the Swiss bank prepares to reopen offices that have been shuttered to halt the spread of the coronavirus.

The first phase will allow a very limited number of essential staff to return to offices, and phase two will see additional employees returning in alternating groups, according to a memo from the bank’s executive leadership seen by Bloomberg News. In phase three, more people will return while the split model arrangement is still in place, while phase four will allow for a full return and resumption of all services.

“We anticipate that in the first weeks and months, many of us will either continue to work from home or in split operations,” the bank said in the memo.

Switzerland’s second-largest bank said regional management together with crisis managers in each region will decide when to move between phases.The bank did not say when employees would begin returning to work. A bank spokesman declined to comment.

Banks across the world are telling employees to expect further weeks and months away from their desks, with many refraining from giving specific dates for reopenings. At UBS Group AG, officials are telling New York City employees not to expect a return to work until June at the earliest and possibly well into the summer. A spokesperson for UBS declined to comment on when employees in different regions can expect to return to work.

Here is what other financial firms said about returning to the office:

• Capital One Financial Corp., potentially setting a standard for the U.S. financial industry, plans to keep most employees working at home at least four more months as it waits for the pandemic to ebb.
• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said it’s carefully thinking through a gradual “return to office” framework for its people around the world. Employees in Hong Kong, mainland China, Stockholm and Tel Aviv have started gradually returning to the office, while New York and London will take longer.
• Citigroup Inc. President Jane Fraser said last month that the firm will conduct its own analysis of risks and won’t necessarily reopen offices just because local authorities issue the all-clear.
• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Chief Executive Officer Rich Handler and President Brian Friedman said this month that employees had shown they can work efficiently at home and should have the final say on whether to return.
• Barclays Plc Chief Executive Officer Jes Staley said headquarters built to house thousands of staff might be a “thing of the past” if social distancing means only two people can take an elevator at a time. Branches might work as alternative sites for investment bankers once staff are cleared to stop working from home, he said.
• London-based Standard Chartered Plc’s chairman Jose Vinals last month suggested that staff at its sprawling global operations keep staying at home. “One thing is for sure -- after this crisis is over we may have to rethink our work-from-home practices,” said Vinals. “The experience so far has been rather good. It may be that going forward you don’t need to have 100% of the people in the office, 100% of the time.”

Around 70% to 80% of Credit Suisse employees are working remotely, while health measures are in place for staff who are still working in the bank’s offices, Chief Executive Officer Thomas Gottstein said last month. Credit Suisse is headquartered in Zurich and also employs thousands in financial centers such as London, Hong Kong and New York.

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