Subscribe to the Banking Dive free daily newsletter, Subscribe to Banking Dive for top news, trends & analysis. JPMorgan told unvaccinated employees last Monday to work from home temporarily to comply with a New York State Department of Health mandate requiring people to wear masks at all times when inside buildings where vaccination is not compulsory. The bank on Monday told employees who had been expected to work from New York City-area offices that they may do so from home over the holidays, Bloomberg and Reuters reported, citing an anonymous source. "Like all of you, we hoped that Covid would be behind us by now, but greatly appreciate your adaptability, support for your colleagues and continued adherence to our safety measures.". Can banks benefit from the wave of fintech layoffs? The fintech sectors funding woes could be the answer to bankings tech talent shortage. Giving New York City-area workers a remote option after the weekend keeps them on a shorter leash. Friday's memo marked a third concession the nations largest bank made within a single workweek to accommodate remote work. 1, By signing up to receive our newsletter, you agree to our, Webinar JPMorgan Chase told employees in a Friday memo they could work from home over the subsequent two weeks, depending on their role and at managers discretion, The Wall Street Journal reported. Keep up with the story. In announcing the move Monday, Bank of America eliminated the option for some workers, in their newfound freedom, to attempt to push up their holiday travel plans to the previous weekend.. This is not a turnaround. That may not have been the intended generosity of a Friday directive, but lets not pretend everyone whos working remotely is doing so from home, regardless of the transmission risk that travel poses.

In practice, JPMorgan's directive completes somewhat of a turnabout. What, then, makes Bank of Americas Monday memo the shrewdest of the bunch if neither Goldman Sachs nor Morgan Stanley explicitly sent its workers home? While not a memo, Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman last week acknowledged the bank may have pushed too hard to repopulate offices earlier this year. Get started By contrast, JPMorgan's announcement Friday, in theory, offered some a chance to flee town early. It's about connecting the ingredients, Chime CMO Vineet Mehra said of the new role. Either that or the timing of a Monday stay-home directive is tactical genius that, purposefully or not, keeps workers on a shorter leash. "I thought we would have been out of it past Labor Day and were not," he told CNBC on Dec. 13. Get the free daily newsletter read by industry experts. Want to share a company announcement with your peers? Its the timing. On the other end of the spectrum, Wells Fargo postponed its office return indefinitely, telling employees they'd receive further details next year. But it had ruled out returning to the office any earlier than Jan. 10, 2022, by late September. It did, however, cancel its remaining gatherings, a source told Reuters. In theory, a JPMorgan worker who was given a remote-work option after Friday could book a weekend flight out. , The free newsletter covering the top industry headlines, Industry Dive to be acquired by Informa PLC, Keynova Group Releases New Small Business Banker Scorecard, Bank of America Ranks No. Raise your hand if you predicted Bank of America would be Wall Streets comparative remote-work grinch this Christmas. "We will ask that certain colleagues, including those who are site dependent, continue to come into the office to ensure critical business operations," the bank said in the memo, reported Thursday by Bloomberg. The bank largely stuck to its previously iterated office-return plan when COVID-19s delta variant proliferated in late summer. Goldman Sachs told London-based staff last week to work from home if they can to comply with U.K. government guidance. Citi likewise told employees based in New York City and Jersey City offices to work from home through the holidays if their managers allow it. "By minimizing any potential exposure now, youll reduce the risk of missing out on holiday gatherings with friends and family," the bank said in the memo, which urged employees to get tested before returning to the office in January. But the bank hasn't sent New York staff home. The bank is also providing free COVID-19 test kits to staff and will offer booster shots, the source said. | 2:00PM ET, Chime's new CMO wants to build the industry's best marketing machine. That essentially makes Bank of America the last of the six largest U.S. banks to offer guidance directly or indirectly on flexible work for employees based in the nations largest metropolitan area amid the emergence of the omicron variant as COVID-19s dominant form.. ", Gorman said he anticipates COVID-19 variants could disrupt work life "through most of next year.". This is not a reset of everything. Morgan Stanley is expecting staff who are not required to be in the office to work from home, but it is not sending staff home and doesn't have a work-from-home policy, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters on Thursday. The bank followed that up Wednesday by moving its annual healthcare conference, set for Jan. 10-13, to a virtual setting. KeyBank, Truist execs share their approaches to fintech partnerships, Truist eyes M&A growth amid rising expenses, Truist counters higher personnel expenses with money-saving cloud integration, Goldman CEO pitches SBA reform plan as recession threatens small business, Digital Customer Service Is A Clear Differentiator for Banks, Benchmark Report: Digital Transformation in Banking, Four Digital Banking Myths That Data Disproves, My Worldview Has Been Destroyed: Chinese Banking Scandal Tests Faith in the System, Former Coinbase manager and two others charged in crypto insider trading scheme, Deutsche Bank Settles Money-Laundering Case for $7.1 Million, Building the Future Bank: Hyperautomation and the New World of Banking, Top 3 Ways AI is Enabling Leading Financial Institutions to Capture Market Growth Opportunity - Faster, Thinking Outside the Bots - Driving Meaningful Customer Engagement, Emerging Communication Solutions for Remote Customer Engagement, Bank of America sets aside $200M over personal-device misuse, House-passed NDAA includes banking provisions for cannabis, JPMorgan's Dimon blasts 'capricious, arbitrary' Fed stress tests. "I was wrong on this.