Moscow, March 16, 2020 — Gazprombank announces that as of tomorrow, additional precautions prompted by the risks associated with coronavirus spread are being introduced at the Bank. Their introduction is predicated on the need to protect the health and safety of the Bank’s employees and clients, which is our immediate priority. The measures being taken will not have an impact on the smooth work and high-quality of services for Gazprombank’s retail and corporate clients.
Within the next couple of days, the Bank will transfer most employees to remote work without sacrificing normal salaries. The number of employees sent to work from home will amount to roughly 50% of the Bank’s total workforce of some 20,200 people, according to projections.
As of March 17, employees who already have everything they need to connect to banking systems remotely will start working remotely. Gazprombank’s remaining workers will also be transferred to a similar mode of work as soon as the necessary access can be arranged. Additionally, the Bank has made contingency plans envisioning the temporary relocation of employees to other offices should one of them be closed for quarantine. All of the necessary technological conditions are already in place for this.
The other measures being taken by the Bank to protect the health and safety of its employees and clients include:
A thirty-day quarantine for all employees who have returned from abroad.
A full thermometric scan of workers before they start working. Employees are sent for medical aid in case they have an elevated body temperature, cough or any other signs of cold-like diseases.
Installation of air disinfectants at Bank branches, dispensation of medical masks and antiseptics, as well as personal thermometers. Special focus will be placed on branch employees and courier-service workers.
Cancellation of business trips unless they are required for business continuity.
Minimization of the number of in-person meetings, a transition to conference calls.
Previously, Gazprombank employees had already been told to refrain from trips to regions with an unfavorable epidemiological environment and to minimize the number of external and internal in-person meetings, as well as visits to shopping centers, movie theaters and exhibitions.
As of March 16, there have not been any confirmed coronavirus cases among Bank employees.
Once the epidemiological situation becomes stable enough, normal operating mode will be restored.