The ECB, acting as the single banking supervisor in the euro area, asked banks on Tuesday 15 December to either not distribute dividends, or to limit them, until September 2021.
Calling for “extreme moderation” in the face of the economic uncertainty resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic, the ECB expects dividends and share buybacks to remain below 15% of cumulative earnings in the 2019 and 2020 financial years, or no more than 20 basis points of the best-quality capital ratio (Tier 1),...