Bank of America is offering $200 awards to Merrill Lynch Wealth Management branch employees who return to the workplace and confirm they’re fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

The company will now begin bringing back staffers who have been working remotely on Oct. 18, rather than Oct. 4, according to an internal memo Wednesday from Chief Operating Officer Scott Powell.

Some banks and credit unions, once hopeful of a swift end to the pandemic, are beginning to toughen credit underwriting and rethink growth strategies as if the coronavirus will influence the economy for years to come.

The more stringent safety measures, announced to staff on Tuesday, signal escalating caution at Goldman, which greeted the return of employees in June with live music and food trucks.

The banks reported fiscal third-quarter results that topped analysts’ estimates on gains in domestic personal and business loans as well as continued strength in the Canadian housing market.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated income inequality in America, and that has implications for banks and other lenders. Among those suffering most: renters, front-line workers and minority small-business owners.

The regional Fed bank said it was making the move “due to the recently elevated COVID-19 health risk level in Teton County, Wyoming.”

Bankers are hopeful that the rebound in oil prices and a spike in natural gas use are precursors to more borrowing. But banks are maintaining above-average levels of reserves in case the delta variant stifles economic momentum.