Anonymous ID: ee5b2e April 1, 2020, 8:43 a.m. No.8648787   🗄️.is đź”—kun   >>8836 >>9050 >>9165

European Banks Suspend Dividends; Banker Bonuses Are Next

 

Two of Europe's largest banks tumbled on Wednesday, dragging down the broader Eurostoxx Bank Index, after they joined the rest of their peers in suspending shareholder payouts.

 

HSBC plunged in Hong Kong trading after scrapping its dividend and warning revenue and loan losses will be impacted in the first quarter from the coronavirus outbreak. The bank's shares dropped over 7% bringing this year's decline to 33%. Meanwhile, Standard Chartered tumbled 5.2% after it too announced a suspension of dividends and a buyback plan. In a statement on Tuesday, HSBC said that "we expect reported revenues to be impacted in insurance manufacturing, and credit and funding valuation adjustments in global banking & markets, alongside higher expected credit losses." The bank had earlier said in the most extreme scenario, in which the virus continues into the second half of 2020, it could see US$600 million in additional loan losses.

 

In order to preserve liquidity amid a global depression, European (and US) banks have been scrapping shareholder payouts to protect their capital cushions. Along with other UK banks, HSBC decided to scrap dividend payments after urging from UK regulators. The lender said it would cancel an interim dividend slated to be paid this month and also make no payouts or do any buybacks until at least the end of the year.

 

In total, the UK's five biggest banks had planned to pay out ÂŁ7.5 billion in dividends over the next two months, with Barclays due to pay more than ÂŁ1 billion on Friday. That money will now go where it should have been from the start: a rainy day fund, i.e., money that will be spent first before banks ask for - and receive - a bailout.

 

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But if shareholders are impacted, why not also the biggest source of bank cash: banker bonuses.

 

Well, it seems that's next on the docket, because as Bloomberg reports, European banks are coming under increased pressure to reconsider bonus payments and conserve money that can be used to support the economy. In its strongest warning to date, the European Banking Authority said banks should set pay and especially bonuses at a “conservative level” during the crisis. Firms should also consider deferring awards for a longer period and paying staff in shares. Later on Tuesday, the European Banking Authority issued a statement calling on banks to set bonuses at “a very conservative level” and consider paying them in stock rather than cash.

 

Perhaps realizing that this is a war not worth fighting, many European banks have already taken proactive steps in limiting bonuses, with Spanish lenders among the first to kick off the Europe-wide trend as Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria on Monday said that 300 of its top executives waived their 2020 bonuses, while Italy’s UniCredit SpA followed suit late Tuesday, and Intesa Sanpaolo SpA’s top management decided to donate some of their bonuses.

 

Credit Suisse AG Chief Executive Thomas Gottstein signaled to Swiss broadcaster SRF that the lender may also curb variable pay for 2020 to show “solidarity” amid the crisis. Eearlier this year the Swiss bank decided to pay out 3.17 billion Swiss francs ($3.28 billion) in bonuses for last year. Even insolvent Deutsche Bank distributed 1.5 billion euros.

https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/european-banks-suspend-dividends-banker-bonuses-are-next

Anonymous ID: ee5b2e April 1, 2020, 9:10 a.m. No.8649015   🗄️.is đź”—kun   >>9050 >>9165

Japan bans entry from US in expanded travel restrictions

 

TOKYO – Japan will expand entry bans to cover foreign travelers from 73 countries and regions on Friday, including the U.S., U.K. and all of China, in an escalation of its fight against the new chinavirus.

 

To help combat the spread of the virus within Japan, Abe announced plans to distribute reusable face masks to all households through the postal service. The moves come as Japan sees its biggest daily increases in new COVID-19 cases to date, prompting Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government to weigh bolder steps such as declaring a state of emergency.

 

"With infections appearing to grow at an explosive pace, mainly in the U.S. and Europe, we are going to take even stronger preventive measures at the front lines," Abe said Wednesday at a meeting of his chinavirus task force. The number of countries under the travel ban will triple from the current 24. In addition to Western nations and China, all of South Korea will be covered for the first time.

 

Countries newly added to the entry ban include Poland, Romania and 21 other European nations, along with 12 Asian nations including Thailand and Vietnam. Canada, Brazil, Israel and Egypt also join the list. In addition, anyone returning to the country from abroad, including Japanese nationals, will be required to self-quarantine for two weeks. These travelers will be asked to refrain from using public transport. Returning Japanese nationals are asked to test for the new coronavirus.

 

Nationwide, 257 new cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, had been confirmed as of 10 p.m. Wednesday, bringing the total to 2,412. Tokyo had the most new cases – 66 – followed by Osaka and Fukuoka prefectures. The prime minister said his government is poised to secure 100 million masks by next month. Plans calls for distributing two masks per residence.

 

Abe called this step "an extremely effective response to the surge in demand for masks."

https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Coronavirus/Japan-bans-entry-from-US-in-expanded-travel-restrictions