May 24 (Reuters) - Citigroup ( C/PN ) has asked its 600

U.S. employees, who are eligible to work remotely, to return to

office fulltime, it said on Friday as regulatory requirements

make it hard for Wall Street banks to allow offsite work for

roles such as trading.

Regulators had eased some of the stringent requirements to

allow traders the flexibility of remote work during the

pandemic.

But in the coming weeks, the primary watchdog for U.S.

brokerage firms and exchange markets, the Financial Industry

Regulatory Authority (FINRA), is set to bring back pre-pandemic

rules to monitor workplaces.

"The majority of Citi employees will continue to work on a

hybrid schedule, with at least three days per week in the office

and up to two days remotely," the third-largest U.S. lender said

in an email statement.

The private securities industry regulator had earlier this

week pushed back against banks, saying its new rules provide

member firms with greater flexibility - not less - to allow

eligible registered persons to work from home, following the

expiration of temporary COVID-19 relief.

Bloomberg News first reported Citi's move along with shifts

in work policies at HSBC Holdings ( HSBC ) and Barclays ( JJCTF )

.

London-based Barclays ( JJCTF ) has mandated that its global

investment banking staff must work in the office or travel to

meet clients five days a week from June 1, the Bloomberg report

said.

Meanwhile, HSBC ( HSBC ) is talking to almost half of its workforce

in New York, around 530 employees, about shifting regulations,

the report said, citing an interview with the bank's head of

human resources for the U.S. and Americas.

The lender is trying to let as many people as possible

retain the option of logging in from home if they would like to,

the report said.

All three firms have had some of the most flexible

post-pandemic working policies compared to their Wall Street

counterparts.