HSBC's New York attendance jumps to 80% at new office

HSBC's HSBA employee attendance has jumped to 80% at its new office in New York's Hudson Yards area, said Michael Roberts, CEO of HSBC in the USA and the Americas, on Thursday.

Attendance was 40% before the pandemic at its former base in Bryant Park, Roberts said at an opening ceremony for the site. New York Mayor Eric Adams and former mayor Michael Bloomberg also spoke at the event.

The lender started to relocate staff to the new office in February, and will move traders, the last group, in June.

HSBC's hybrid working policy has been among the most flexible in the financial industry.

HSBC's new office has open working spaces overlooking the Hudson River. It includes perks like a coffee bar, wellness center, and a combination of private and shared spaces to tempt workers back.

The company held a "chair fair," asking employees to weigh in on their favorite furniture, and a "workspace fair" for traders to choose their desk configurations, Mabel Rius, the bank's head of human resources in the U.S., told reporters.

The office's massage chair is particularly popular, she said.