* Deutsche and BBVA reorganise operations
* Moody's says European banks at risk
* EU bank watchdog scrutinises contingency plans
* Latest on coronavirus spread
(Adds UBS)
By Tom Sims and Jesús Aguado
FRANKFURT/MADRID, March 10 (Reuters) - European banks
expanded their emergency measures to combat the spread of the
coronavirus on Tuesday with Deutsche Bank and BBVA
reorganising operations after employees were infected.
Deutsche Bank has split some of its trading operations
across sites in Frankfurt while Spain's BBVA has shut one
building at its headquarters in Madrid.
The spread of the coronavirus is increasingly disrupting
financial companies' operations and adds to the impact of a
weaker economy on their businesses.
"Banks will see a weakening of their loan book quality as
the effects of the virus will reduce global travel and factory
output, and dampen domestic demand in Europe," Moody's analyst
Bernhard Held said.
Swiss bank UBS has started implementing plans for
staff to work from multiple locations, two sources familiar with
the plans told Reuters. One of the sources said hundreds of UBS
workers had been sent home this week from its London offices.
"The health and safety of our employees and clients is
always our main priority and we are ready to implement
additional measures where appropriate," a UBS spokeswoman said.
The European Union's banking watchdog said it was focusing
on ensuring banks can continue operating during the coronavirus
crisis and was in contact with members over measures needed.
European banking stocks recovered some of their recent
losses on Tuesday.
CONTINGENCY PLANS
Private equity firm KKR & Co Inc said late on Monday
that an employee at its London office had tested positive,
causing it to temporarily close both its sites in the city.
Standard Life Aberdeen said on Tuesday it was
planning to split its British and U.S. investment teams into
groups and have them work separately as part of contingency
planning.
Traders at the world's biggest banks began swapping their
plush city centre offices to work from suburban outposts in New
York and London last week, facing lengthy commutes as their
employers attempt to reduce the disruption caused by
coronavirus.
British bank Halifax, which is owned by Lloyds Banking Group
, has shut a call centre in Northern Ireland that
employs 1,000 people after a member of staff tested positive to
coronavirus.
Last week, HSBC sent 100 employees home after a
staff member in its research department in London tested
positive. S&P Global has asked all its 1,200 employees in its
Canary Wharf office to work from home after confirming the
infected HSBC employee visited its office.
The measures by Deutsche on Tuesday are expected to affect
dozens of people and last until at least March 27. The bank also
split some operations in London on Monday, following similar
moves in places including Italy and China.
"We expect no impact on our ability to operate our full
range of services for our clients and recognise that this setup
will require extra effort and discipline from all," Deutsche
said in a memo to staff.
(Reporting by Arno Schuetze, Tom Sims and Jesus Aguado;
Additional reporting by Maiya Keidan, Simon Jessop, Huw Jones,
Graham Fahy and Hakan Ersen; Editing by Riham Alkousaa, Thomas
Escritt, Louise Heavens and David Clarke)