Euro zone banks ditch dividends to build coronavirus war chest


Reuters | Updated: 30-03-2020 19:17 IST | Created: 30-03-2020 17:59 IST
Euro zone banks ditch dividends to build coronavirus war chest
Representative Image Image Credit: Pixabay

Banks across the eurozone are tearing up plans to return cash to shareholders at the behest of regulators, instead of shoring up reserves as the coronavirus outbreak threatens to tip the world into a deep recession. As measures to fight the pandemic paralyze economic activity, banks are on the front line in a battle to keep cash-starved businesses alive, although lenders in other countries such as Switzerland and the United States, in stark contrast, are pushing ahead with dividend payments regardless.

The European Central Bank told lenders last week to skip dividends and share buybacks until at least October, estimating they could save 30 billion euros by doing so, and instead direct profits towards supporting the economy. The ECB's demand was something of a quid pro quo after it helped banks cope by letting them eat into their capital and cash buffers, as well as turning on the cheap credit taps.

In Italy, the current epicenter of the outbreak in Europe, UniCredit on Sunday put its planned dividend for 2019 and share buyback on hold, becoming the first Italian bank to respond to the ECB's demands. Dutch bank ABN Amro, which has been hit by a loss of roughly $200 million during the recent market turmoil, followed suit and said it too would scrap dividend payouts for now, while online banking specialist ING, agricultural lender Rabobank and Belgium's KBC did the same.

In Ireland, which was forced to take an international bailout during the last financial crash, Bank of Ireland and Allied Irish Banks ditched planned dividend payouts for last year. The moves will come as a relief to regulators and help allay fears that multi-billion-euro efforts by central banks and governments to stem the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak on businesses, including banks, will end up in investors' pockets.

Investors were less happy and banking stocks fell sharply on Monday morning with ING, ABN Amro, AIB and Bank of Ireland all down more than 6%. French banks BNP Paribas and Natixis told Reuters they would review the ECB's statement this week.

GLOBAL FREEZE Agustin Carstens, general manager of the Bank of International Settlements, an umbrella organization for central banks, at the weekend said "a global freeze on bank dividends and share buybacks" was needed in the face of the coronavirus outbreak.

But some lenders are determined to push on with payouts to shareholders. Banks in Switzerland have ignored guidance from local regulators, lenders in the United Kingdom have remained tight-lipped so far, while in the United States, the eight biggest banks have halted stock repurchases but none have cut dividends despite mounting political pressure. The largest Swiss bank and the world's largest wealth manager UBS said it would press ahead with its 2019 dividend despite guidance from markets supervisor FINMA and the Swiss government to limit payouts.

The bank, rescued a decade ago by the Swiss federal government with a 6 billion Swiss franc ($6.28 billion) capital injection during the financial crisis, said it was able to support the economy as well as pay shareholders a dividend. Cross-town rival Credit Suisse also said it did not plan any changes to its proposed dividend.

Meanwhile, the Bank of England has warned lenders not to use stimulus money for the benefit of shareholders but has not yet issued any guidance on payouts. UK Finance, a trade body for banks in Britain, said on Monday that policies on distributions needed to reflect a "prudent assessment" of the current economy and its prospects when it comes to this year's dividend, but made no specific mention of payments for 2019.

Barclays is due to pay around a 1 billion pound dividend on Friday, while HSBC is due to pay its shareholders on April 14 and RBS, which is still more than 60% owned by the UK taxpayer, is scheduled to play on May 4. The chief executive officers of eight UK banks will take part in a teleconference with Christopher Woolard, chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), on Monday to discuss ways to ease the burden on customers and could also discuss the payment of dividends and staff bonuses.

"It is hard to believe that the UK banks will not be requested to suspend dividends and buybacks," John Cronin, Goodbody analyst, said in a note. The Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Authority declined to say whether it would ask banks to scrap dividends. 

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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