While Main Streets throughout the country are moving to reopen from coronavirus lockdowns, Wall Street is sending clear signals that it is in no rush to get back in the office. In a memo to staff on Tuesday, Capital One Financial’s chief executive Richard Fairbanks announced that the $370 billion bank will keep all non-essential …
While Main Streets throughout the country are moving to reopen from coronavirus lockdowns, Wall Street is sending clear signals that it is in no rush to get back in the office.
In a memo to staff on Tuesday, Capital One Financial’s chief executive Richard Fairbanks announced that the $370 billion bank will keep all non-essential offices closed through the summer until “at least Labor Day,” which falls on September 7 this year.
“Given current health conditions and uncertainties in our major markets, we feel this decision supports the health and safety of our associates and communities,” Fairbanks wrote.
The CEO also made it clear that Capital One staff would be given six weeks notice before any reopenings occur, adding “We anticipate any return to co-location will be slow, staggered, and safe.”
Capital One’s home state is planning to start its reopening on May 8, but the Tysons, Virginia-based lender made it clear that it will continue to make its decisions independently based on employee safety.
The four-month horizon outlined by Fairbanks is one of the first laid out by a Wall Street CEO and is expected to set a cautious tone for the industry.
Goldman Sachs chief David Solomon informed his staff on Tuesday that the megabank has already reopened offices in Asia and Europe, but said offices in London and global headquarters in Lower Manhattan will remain closed for the foreseeable future.
“In certain cities, such as New York and London, it will take longer before we start to slowly increase the number of people in our offices,” Solomon wrote in a memo seen by Reuters.
Solomon also cautioned Goldman staffers that he rejects the notion of a “one size fits all” approach to reopening the $992 billion firm’s offices in 30 different countries around the globe.
Of course, Wall Street has already taken a fair amount of flak for its early handling of the coronavirus, includes delays in closing the New York Stock Exchange floor and criticisms that major banks, including JPMorgan, continued to require traders and salespeople to report to work.
