Return to Office Split Deepens Banking’s Transatlantic Divide

US and Canadian banks are summoning staffers back to their offices at a faster rate than European rivals, widening the divide in one of finance’s defining workplace debates.

Five years after Covid pushed most staffers into temporary home working, just seven of Europe’s 15 most valuable banks have asked some or all of their staff to spend four or more days in the office a week, according to a Bloomberg analysis. That figure rises to 11 across a group of 15 of the most valuable banks in North America. While the headline numbers don’t capture the nuance of, say, trading teams that might need to meet regulatory requirements for full-time office attendance in certain countries, the difference in overall approach is clear. Bloomberg's Tom Metcalf reports.

Those 15 banks in Canada and the US now have an average of 4.2 days a week as their strictest demand for some or all of their staff, the analysis shows. In Europe, the average requirement is 3.4 days on the same basis and no major European bank has summoned all of their staff back five days a week.

The opposing views of one-time colleagues Bill Winters and Jamie Dimon illustrate how far industry leaders on both sides of the Atlantic are from reaching consensus on the future of work.

“We work with adults,” Winters, chief executive officer of London-based Standard Chartered Plc, told Bloomberg TV on July 31 about his support for home-working. “The adults can have an adult conversation with other adults and decide how they’re going to best manage their team.”

JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Dimon has little time for workers who disagree with his five-days-a-week requirement, telling staff in February not to “waste time” opposing it with a petition.

“I completely applaud your right to not want to go to the office every day. But you’re not going to tell JPMorgan what to do,” he told Bloomberg TV in a follow-up interview, after acknowledging he regretted the tone of his viral moment.

European banks have long bemoaned their competitive disadvantage, and the fact that their shares have lagged behind US competitors and their own book value. Some analysts see the work-from-home divide as an extension of that phenomenon, with Wall Street’s more prosperous banks in a better position to dictate terms.

“It’s their way or the highway,” said Mike Mayo, a veteran banks analyst at Wells Fargo, referring to Wall Street banks generally. He argued that a strong commitment to office working is a “sign of a hungry and intensive culture, a team that wants to win” and that firms with more staff on site will benefit from the synergies and efficiencies.

Still, Mayo offered Citigroup Inc. as evidence against the idea of a “one size fits all” answer to whether it’s better to call staff in or leave them their own devices.

Midway through a painful multi-year restructuring, Citi is sticking to three days a week, aside from roles where regulators mandate full office attendance. It has given staff a bonus two weeks of remote work within their jurisdiction in August.

“If Citi is going to offer more job flexibility to get better talent at a time when they have fallen, that could make sense for them,” said Mayo. “They might get some good talent, someone who is exceptional and values that flexibility.” Citi declined to comment on its approach.

Among Asian lenders, a variety of policies are on display. While many Japanese banks have embraced hybrid work some Australian banks have started to bring more employees back, tying employee reviews to attendance. Mainland Chinese banks restored full work weeks in the office shortly after China ended Covid lockdowns in early 2023.

European Approach

In Europe, even the most profitable banks use hybrid work as a talent retention tool.

Among them is Spain’s BBVA, frequently one of Europe’s best earning lenders and steadfastly committed to two days work from home, a model its head of talent and culture Paul Tobin said “helps us attract and retain great talent.”

Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo SpA, whose second quarter beat expectations, requires workers to spend 50% of their time in the office.

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