South Africa is urging its banks to withhold ordinary dividends and executive bonuses for 2020 to preserve capital as the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic remains uncertain. “The principle is: Keep as much ammunition in the armory as you possibly can,” Kuben Naidoo, chief executive officer of South Africa’s Prudential Authority and deputy governor of its central bank, said on a conference call hosted by Standard Bank Group Ltd’s SBG Securities. “We don’t know how long this crisis is going to last.” The regulator was commenting on guidelines released late Monday on how lenders should handle shareholder payouts and executive compensation. The guidelines, an update to a previous note published on March 26, are not instructions, and banks will be able to decide for themselves on what route to take, he said. Dividends already declared and investor payouts that lenders are legally obliged to make should still be paid, Naidoo said.
SOURCE: BUSINESS TECH
More Stories
Nigeria’s Growing Electronic Scene
The State of Plastic Pollution in Parts of Africa is Dramatic
What’s Behind Accra’s Recent Crackdown on the Queer Community?
Nigerians Turn to Recycling to Boost Economic Activity
DRC Urged to Renegotiate its $6bn Infrastructure-for-minerals Deal with Chinese Investors
Google to Start Funding African Startups
Saving a Fish Species only Found in One African Lake
The Reality of the African Green Revolution
Ethiopian Troops Push to Tigray
One of the Most Highly Anticipated Trials Ever to Take Place in Africa Begins
A Dance Workshop in Goma
Africa’s First Bike Hotel Houses Africa’s First Bicycle Museum