Today I return to my client's office - the London Clearing House, for the first time since the London bombings. The office is next door to Aldgate Underground Station - where one of the bombs went off. Apparently the building shook when it went off.
Thursday morning, I was travelling into work normally, scheduled to get in at around 09:30. I arrived at Whitechapel, 300 yds northeast of the office via a circuitous route, to find my colleagues assembled - this was our muster point. The office had been evacuated, and was inside a police cordon.
At 10:30, we were advised what to do. Key individuals, whose presence is needed were advised to make their way to the business continuity suite on the South Bank. Others were advised to go home. Those who were technical with the capability of dialling in were asked to work from home. I arrived home at around 14:00 as there was little or no transport crossing east to west.
Today, I come in to the office to read several emails stating that LCH's member banks and the regulatory authorities were impressed by our disaster recovery operation. We were up and running from the business continuity suite within an hour, and the members didn't bat an eyelid. It was also a busy time with the markets, with runs on equities and bonds triggered by the bombings.
I second this, as the attitude of colleagues mustered at the assembly point, and those at the BCS, was one of calm. We have had many business continuity drills and disaster recovery failover exercises in the 2 1/2 years I have been working at LCH. In the event, nobody was panicking, everybody was professional and we all knew what to do. It was, in effect, business as usual.
