BofA brings back staff to some U.S. offices as COVID cases decrease

Bank of America is bringing employees back to offices in U.S. regions where new coronavirus cases have started to decline.

The bank’s staff have returned or are making their way back in the coming weeks based on their region’s COVID-19 data and medical guidelines, according to people with knowledge of the plans. Previously the company had told employees to work remotely through at least the third week of January, and until they’re advised to come back. 

A Bank of America representative declined to comment.

As coronavirus conditions improve across the country, employees across major financial firms are being asked to come back. Citigroup staffers in the New York City region and Credit Suisse Groups workforce across the U.S. are being urged to return to offices in early February. In New York City, the percent of people testing positive for COVID-19 is decreasing, with a daily average of 8,269 cases in the past week.

Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg

Wall Street firms including Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America started giving employees more flexibility to work from home at the end of 2021, as the highly contagious omicron variant emerged, and then urged them to do so as COVID-19 infections soared once again.

Staffers in Bank of America’s markets unit, including sales and trading, are gradually returning to offices in New York City, one of the people said. That effort is expected to ramp up and expand to other groups and additional locations as the bank sees new COVID-19 cases continue to decline.

While Bank of America has no vaccine mandate, the company is encouraging employees to be fully vaccinated, including having booster shots, before returning to the office.