UBS Grounds Bankers Amid Virus Fears

UBS is halting international travel for its staff, asking its employees to postpone meetings or opt for remote ones. The move comes in response to COVID-19.

The Swiss bank on Wednesday told its more than 60,000-strong staff to stop traveling for meetings, a UBS spokeswoman said on Wednesday. UBS is adopting the policy for all not absolutely business-critical» travel in response to COVID-19, a disease caused by the new coronavirus.

Existing meetings will be postponed – or held remotely through digital channels, the spokeswoman said. UBS bankers who had visited China, Italy, South Korea, or Iran in recent weeks – for work or personal travel – are asked to work from home for the next 14 days.

Roughly 20 percent of UBS’ staff work in the Asia-Pacific region and a sizable amount in China – but the Zurich-based wealth manager doesn’t break out employee numbers by country. Its cross-town rival Credit Suisse put roughly 1,000 compliance, information technology, and trading employees in Switzerland on a staggered home office rotation from Monday.

UBS is apparently warning its staff to hold back on personal travel, and requiring approvals from senior management if they want to travel to non-bank events. On Tuesday, the World Health Organization said COVID-19 can be contained, but that its mortality rate is higher than the typical seasonal flu.