HSBC Holdings PLC (LSE:HSBA) has ordered some 18,500 UK staff back into offices for at least three days a week from October.
Set to be implemented at subsidiary HSBC UK, the call for staff to spend more time working in person will affect those working at its ring-fenced retail wing.
“Hybrid working at HSBC UK balances our commitment to deliver for our customers with flexibility for colleagues,” a spokesman said.
“We have been clear from the outset that hybrid working would evolve to ensure we’re serving our customers in the right way.
“From October hybrid working at HSBC UK will mean colleagues spending typically three days a week in an office or with clients.”
The move may well mark a return to more in-person than home working for many, and follows similar calls from rivals Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LSE:LLOY) and JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM).
Lockdowns, prompted by the Covid-19 pandemic, had seen most resort to home working, a habit many are supposedly set to shake, with demand for London office space having faded.
HSBC itself announced plans in June to downsize from its flagship offices in Canary Wharf to a smaller space near St. Paul’s which was previously occupied by BT Group.