The SEC boss says staff is performing well under 'voluntary remote work'

SEC Chair Gary Gensler speaking Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing in 2021. Evelyn Hockstein/Pool via AP

• SEC Chair Gary Gensler was asked about remote work in a CNBC interview Friday.
• His staff is under a voluntary remote work policy – 'that's where we are,' Gensler says
• Other Wall Street executives aren't so sold on remote work, reports say.

As Wall Street executives continue to debate in-office work - and some pressure workers to return - the Securities and Exchange Commission boss isn't leaving remote work behind just yet.

SEC Chairman Gary Gensler told CNBC in a Zoom interview on Friday that his staff is performing well while working remotely.

Gensler acknowledged to anchor David Faber the benefits of being in the office, but said his staff has a choice on where they want to work.

"We've worked with our bargaining unit, with the union representatives, we moved to voluntary remote. That's where we are," Gensler said.

JPMorgan chief executive Jamie Dimon has made headlines for his views on remote work, pushing back on it during a client call in August, Insider's Hannah Towey reported.

He reportedly criticized the working style, saying it "slows down honesty and decision making," the report says.

According to a New York Post report, job security on Wall Street is suffering as revenues drop. In July, both JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley reported "surprisingly steep profit drops," the report says.

Gensler didn't comment much more on the topic, although remote work is still a point of conversation within the private sector.

One banking source explained Wall Street's old view of job security. "In the '80s, we had a saying on Wall Street: They can't take your desk away from you if you're sitting at it."