Madrid — Santander, Spain, will make an interim dividend on Tuesday from 2021 earnings through cash dividends worth € 1.7 billion ($ 2 billion) and share buybacks, which is 40% of base profit in the first half. He said he had decided.
The announcement came after the ECB announced in July that it would lift restrictions on bank dividends and share buybacks after September, regaining the crisis measures that forced lenders to retain capital during pandemics. I did.
The Board of Directors approved the payment of an interim cash dividend for the 2021 result of € 4.85, which is equivalent to 20% of the Group’s underlying profit in the first half of 2021.
In addition, in the first half of 2021, it agreed to buy back about 20% of the Group’s underlying profits for about € 841 million and was approved by the ECB.
The bank also said it would announce a more final distribution from 2021 earnings in the first quarter of 2022.
“If banks continue to trend in the first half of the year, the total cash dividend in 2021 will match the cash dividend paid in 2019, and the total repurchase will be unpaid equity capital.”
Reuters calculations based on Refinitiv data show a total repurchase of around € 1.6 billion, given current stock prices.
The bank said the interim distribution would take place around November and the final distribution would take place around May.
Banks have already signaled that they intend to recover dividends of 40% to 50% of their underlying profits.
Santander’s revised dividend policy will keep solvency’s most stringent indicator of full-road CET-1 capital at the 11-12% target cap, while moving towards long-term value and profitable businesses. He said it reflects his commitment to capital development.
Jesus Aguado
follow