ICICI Securities may make WFH permanent

ICICI Securities Ltd, India's largest listed brokerage, is looking at jobs that could be completely moved to a work-fromhome model as the coronavirus pandemic forces businesses to re-imagine workplaces.

"We have just about 20 per cent of people coming to the office now, so it is possible," Vijay Chandok, the firm's chief executive officer, said in a phone interview. "We are thinking very seriously of examining the types of roles and jobs that can become longterm work-from-home."

Other financial companies around the world have started to look at longer-term telecommuting solutions. JPMorgan Chase & Co could see a portion of its staff work from home on a rotational basis more permanently. The Investment

Manage-ment Association of Singapore recently said it expects flexible work arrangements to become more commonplace.

India's strict stay-athome curbs have posed a number of hurdles for brokerages. Those with mostly an offline presence have struggled to service customers, while restrictions on movement of people have made it difficult for companies to verify client information.

ICICI Securities has been able to expand in this difficult environment, adding over 100,000 new clients in JanuaryMarch

to boost its total operational accounts to

4.8 million. It posted a 28 per cent jump in net income to Rs 150 crore for the same period, despite it being the worst quarter ever for the Sensex.

"New client acquisition isn't lumped up in any month, but we did see a rise in number of active clients," Chandok said. "A steep correction in such a short period of time provided many with an opportunity to enter the market at multi-year low prices."

The broker's volumes surged during the volatile first quarter of

2020, to a peak of over 3.2 million trades per day compared with its previous peak of 2 million. The market has rewarded ICICI Securi-ties' performance, with its shares up 64 per cent from their March 24 low, compared with a 17 per cent rise in the BSE MidCap Index.