STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Swedish banks should continue to suspend dividend payments through 2020 to safeguard their resilience, despite some positive signs regarding the impact of the pandemic, the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA) said on Tuesday.
“The crisis is far from over. We therefore expect the banks to suspend dividend payments until at least after the end of the year,” said FSA Director General Erik Thedeen said in a statement.
The FSA said it did not see any reason for profitable and well-capitalised banks not to reinstate normal dividend payments once the current uncertainty regarding the coronavirus crisis’ impact on the economy had decreased.
(Reporting by Johannes Hellstrom; editing by Niklas Pollard)
