London bankers liberated from work for Queen's funeral

It wouldn't be a Bank Holiday if bankers were at work today. In London, most banks have given staff the day off for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, even though - strictly speaking - they don't have to. 

London employees at Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse and others are all released from work today to mark the Queen's funeral. However, although today has been declared a national holiday in the UK, the guidance from the British government also states that there is no actual statutory entitlement to time off. If they like, employers are even able to deduct the day off for the funeral from employees' holiday days. 

Ever-generous, banks aren't doing this. And where staff are required in the office for "operational resilience" reasons, banks like Deutsche and Credit Suisse say they'll be offered an extra day off to compensate. This, too, is not mandated: the government guidance states that a compensatory day off for staff who work is "a matter for discussion" between individuals and their employers. 

The day off in London comes as most banks could do with additional revenues. As we reported last week, global revenues in investment banking divisions are down anything from 39% (Bank of America) to 56% (Credit Suisse) globally year-on-year to date in 2022. In EMEA, leveraged finance revenues are down 88% at Deutsche Bank and ECM revenues are down 86% at JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley.

While some junior bankers have been frenetically pitching for new business, others say they have no work to do anyway. One junior banker said she's been given the day off but will be working anyway: "It's driven by live projects."

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