RBS Suspends Dividends, Share Buybacks Until FY20 End Due To Covid-19

(RTTNews) - Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc. (RBS, RBS.L) announced Wednesday that it is suspending dividends and share buybacks until the end of 2020 amid the coronavirus or Covid-19 crisis.

The company said its Board of Directors has decided to undertake no quarterly or interim dividend payments, accrual of dividends or share buybacks and defer decisions on any future shareholder distributions until the year end.

In response to a formal request from the Prudential Regulatory Authority, the Board has also decided to cancel the final ordinary and special dividend payments in relation to the 2019 financial year and not submit them for approval to the RBS AGM to be held on April 29.

RBS said it continues to maintain its robust capital and liquidity position and enters this period with more than sufficient capital to accommodate the combined simultaneous impact of severe UK and global recessions.

The Board action reduces the RBS CET1 capital deductions by 1.33 billion pounds, equating to an improvement from the FY19 published 16.2% CET1 ratio of 74 bps. RBS Chief Executive Alison Rose said, "The Board remains committed to capital returns, will continue to review the situation and will look to resume distributions to ordinary shareholders in due course."