BMO to Start Bringing Back Investment and Corporate Bankers Next Week

(Bloomberg) -- Bank of Montreal plans to start bringing investment and corporate bankers back to their offices next week, and is seeking to have staff fully returned on a hybrid basis by early April. 

Bankers will begin their return on Feb. 7, and workers on all teams will spend two to three days a week in the office as of April 4, Alan Tannenbaum, head of global investment and corporate banking, said in a memo to staffers Tuesday. Employees who aren't vaccinated will have to continue working from home, according to the memo.

Bank of Montreal's plans mark one of the first moves by Canada's banks to start refilling offices after the omicron variant caused a wave of infections that prompted governments to tighten restrictions and recommend companies let employees work remotely. Bank of Nova Scotia and Manulife Financial Corp. were among the Canadian financial firms that had set January dates for large-scale returns to their offices, only to pull those plans as omicron spread.

“Throughout the pandemic many employees have continued to work from BMO locations to provide safe, consistent banking services to our customers,” Bank of Montreal spokeswoman Kelly Hechler said in an emailed statement. “While some employees returned to office-based work over the last year, given differences in business needs and local public health guidance, the timetable for a broader-based return will differ by groups, teams and geographies.”

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