BoG asks banks to put on hold dividends payments
The Bank of
Ghana has directed banks and SDIs to desist from declaring or paying any
dividends or distributing reserves to shareholders, and also from making any
irrevocable commitments regarding the declaration or payment of dividends to
shareholders, until further notice.
“For the
avoidance of doubt, shareholders in this context means holders of Common Equity
Shares (CET1) and Additional Tier I (AT1) capital instruments of banks and
SDIs” according to a statement signed by Ms. Sandra Thompson, Secretary of the
Bank.
Reference is
made to the Bank of Ghana’s Monetary Policy release dated 18th March 2020 on
measures to contain the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and to the Bank’s
subsequent Notice No: BG/GOV/SEC/2020/01 on the permitted utilisation by banks
and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions (SDIs) of various capital and
liquidity reliefs provided by the Bank of Ghana.
In the said Notice No: BG/GOV/SEC/2020/01, the
Bank of Ghana directed banks and SDIs to desist from declaring or paying
dividends and from making other distributions to shareholders for the financial
years 2019 and 2020, unless the Bank of Ghana was satisfied, that such
institutions met the regular prudential requirements and were not relying on
the additional liquidity released by the regulatory reliefs provided by the
Bank of Ghana. The Bank of Ghana indicated that it would continue to monitor
the evolving impact of the pandemic on banks and SDIs and on their customers,
and would issue further directives as required.
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