Hong Kong banks gradually reopen branches as Covid-19 cases decline rapidly in the city
- From April 1, HSBC will keep 48 of its branches open from Monday to Friday, instead of three days a week at present
- More than 600 of the 1,200 retail bank branches in Hong Kong were temporarily closed at the height of the fifth wave of the outbreak earlier this month
Banks in Hong Kong are gradually resuming normal services and reopening branches as cases in the fifth wave of the coronavirus outbreak continue to decline.
HSBC, Hong Kong’s biggest bank, said on Tuesday that it would resume daily operations at nearly half of its branches and allow up to 30 per cent of its staff to work in the office from April 1
The bank said 48 of its retail branches will resume daily operations from Monday to Friday, instead of three days a week at present.
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Three branches, including the one at its headquarters in Central, will remain open from Monday to Saturday, while the remaining 29 outlets will open every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday until further notice.
“The new operation arrangement aims to balance the need to ensure essential banking services to the community and to safeguard the health of our customers and the employees,” HSBC said.
HSBC will also allow up to 30 per cent of its staff to work in the office from Friday, according to an internal memo, which was seen by the Post. Since February, the bank, which employs 20,000 people in the city, has been allowing only essential staff to come to work.
Hong Kong’s 20 major lenders temporarily shut about 200 branches from February 7, with branch closures jumping to more than 600 in early March because of safety concerns or Covid-19 infections among employees. That number has steadily decreased in the past two weeks to about 360 closures, or one third of all 1,100 branches in the city, as new infections across the city declined.
