Big banks like JPMorgan Chase & Co., Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Corp. and Danske Bank A/S will split their sales and trading staff to move a portion of them to backup locations to minimize operational disruptions in light of the coronavirus outbreak, moving to actual implementation of their contingency plans, Bloomberg News reported March 5, citing people briefed on the plans.
Within the week, JPMorgan will inform their sales and trading teams about their designated sites where they will work until further notice, according to the news outlet, citing a memo. New York employees will work in the company's locations in Manhattan, Brooklyn or New Jersey, while London employees will be split among three different sites, a person briefed on the moves informed the news outlet. Some of the company's sales and trading staff will also work from home. Workers were also discouraged from attending in-person meetings with clients and regulators, training sessions and town halls, according to the report.
JPMorgan spokesman Brian Marchiony confirmed the plans, Bloomberg said.
Further, the company expanded its restrictions on nonessential business travel to include domestic locations, a move that Wells Fargo & Co. has also implemented. Moreover, JPMorgan and Royal Bank of Canada each made previously scheduled events into virtual ones, Bloomberg added.
Morgan Stanley has moved half of its Manhattan trade staff to a site in Westchester, N.Y., while more than 100 employees from Bank of America's equities and fixed income, currencies and commodities groups will start to work from a backup location in Connecticut beginning March 9, sources told Bloomberg.
In addition to its postponement of a New York event and travel limits, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is also planning on dividing its staff into rotating teams. Citigroup Inc., on the other hand, has yet to relocate most of its traders, although company executives have already visited backup sites in New Jersey and London, the news outlet reported, citing a person with knowledge of the matter.