Citi will require all 65,000 of its US staff to be vaccinated by January and is giving any worker who provides proof of vaccination by December 8 a $200 'thank you' bonus.
The announcement came on Thursday in a LinkedIn post by the head of HR. Officials from the bank later confirmed it was part of a move to get everyone back into the office.
Citi had been one of the more relaxed Wall Street firms in its approach to at-home working, citing families and childcare as one of the reasons why it was harder for people to go back.
Now, it seems the bank is instructing everyone to return to the office next year, and that the vaccine mandate is folded into it.
In August, HR boss Sarah Wechter announced that all New York office employees must be vaccinated, and that some employees in other office locations would also have to be vaccinated.
HR boss Sarah Wechter announced the mandate in a LinkedIn post on Thursday
Citi CEO Jane Fraser has not yet commented on the decision
The new order extends to all employees, regardless of whether they work in an office or a bank.
It's unclear how staff are reacting; the company's HQ is in New York but it has bank locations around the country.
HR boss Sarah Wechter wrote in a LinkedIn post: 'Our leadership at Citigroup has thought long and hard about how we navigate the latest stages of the pandemic.
'We have made the decision to require U.S.-based colleagues to be fully vaccinated as a condition of employment.'
Wechter said religious and medical exemptions would be considered and that while Biden's mandate was one of the reasons for the decision, the bank also believes that 'having a vaccinated workforce enables us to ensure the health and safety of our colleagues as we return to the office in the U.S.'
'Understanding that there are a range of views about vaccine mandates, this decision was made with careful consideration and analysis, but it came down to two key factors: First, as the U.S. government is a large and important client of Citi, we have an obligation to comply with the Executive Order issued by the White House mandating that individuals supporting government contracts be fully vaccinated — an order that would impact the vast majority of our U.S. colleagues.
'Second, having a vaccinated workforce enables us to ensure the health and safety of our colleagues as we return to the office in the U.S.
'Our people are our most important asset, and we will do all we can to help our colleagues comply with this new requirement. We’ve been through a lot, and we are proud of how we’ve all come together to support each other,' she said.
CEO Jane Fraser is yet to comment on the decision.
She strayed from other Wall Street bosses in her approach to allowing staff to work from home, citing families and the facts that childcare was more difficult for staff to return full-time.
Morgan Stanley announced in August that all US employees would have prove they have been vaccinated before they can return to the office, and the firm was one of the first to tell New York staff, specifically, that they had to come back to HQ.
JP Morgan is not mandating vaccines but it will ban unvaccinated staff from business travel, and will deduct the cost of COVID-19 tests from the pay of those who are unvaccinated and require them.
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