FIN-FSA issues recommendation to supervised banks to refrain from dividend distributions - yesterday evening the ECB published a corresponding recommendation to banks under its direct supervision

On 27 March 2020, the European Central Bank (ECB) published a recommendation to banks to refrain from dividend distributions until 1 October 2020. The ECB recommendation urges national supervisors to apply corresponding principles for credit institutions under their own supervision.

The corresponding Finnish-language supervision release was published on 28 March 2020.

On 28 March 2020, the Financial Supervisory Authority (FIN-FSA) decided to issue a recommendation to credit institutions under its supervision to refrain from dividend distributions until 1 October 2020. The details of the recommendation will be specified in a supervision release to be issued on 30 March 2020.

The recommendation aims to ensure the ability of Finnish banks to support the real economy with funding to businesses and households in order to alleviate the impacts of the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

See also

• ECB press release 27 March 2020: ECB asks banks not to pay dividends until at least October 2020
• FIN-FSA press release 20 March 2020: European Central Bank elaborated on its guidance on regulatory flexibility – FIN-FSA: All measures must be channelled to alleviating the impacts of the pandemic

For further information, please contact

Jyri Helenius, Deputy Director General of the Financial Supervisory Authority, tel. +358 9 183 5312.