Citigroup chief executive Michael Corbat has told hundreds of thousands of its employees to take an extra day off on Friday as a thank you for juggling the demands of their jobs with the pressures created by the current crisis.

In a note to staff sent last night, seen by Financial News, Corbat said that Citi staff would be given Friday 22 May as extra holiday as employees are "managing challenges – from delivering site-dependent services to clients, to helping children learn and taking care of loved ones, to supporting our communities". Citi had around 201,000 staff globally at the end of the first quarter.