London 29, March 2022: Staff at Citigroup Inc. and HSBC Holdings Plc in London faced disruption as a major power failure across the east of the British capital knocked out computer networks and led to the activation of emergency electricity supplies.
Some of Citigroup’s U.K.-based staff were forced to head home to work or reroute business to other offices when parts of the building in Canary Wharf lost power, according to a person familiar with the matter. The disruption was likely to extend into Wednesday, according to a memo to staff from James Bardrick, Citigroup’s country officer for the U.K.
“We expect access to power in and around Canary Wharf to be compromised tomorrow, and possibly for a longer period of time,” Bardrick wrote. “As a precaution, please plan to work from home tomorrow.”
At HSBC’s Canary Wharf headquarters, power was lost for several hours, leading the bank to activate auxiliary generators to maintain electrical supply for its London-based trading teams, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Not every bank was as badly affected. Power went out at the London office of Credit Suisse Group AG., yet it used secondary supplies to ensure no material disruption to its operations, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. Spokeswomen for Citigroup, HSBC and Credit Suisse declined to comment.
At JPMorgan Chase & Co., which also houses much of its London business in Canary Wharf, a spokesman said the bank was not experiencing any issues.
UK Power Networks, the operator of electricity cables across London and the south east of England, said on its website the power cuts in Canary Wharf and other districts had been caused by a fault in an underground high-voltage cable.
