Bank of England says top banks should not pay bonuses

Reuters

Published Mar 31, 2020 04:59PM ET

LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England welcomed moves by Britain's biggest banks to suspend dividends and said it also expects them not to pay cash bonuses to senior staff during the coronavirus epidemic.

The BoE's Prudential (LON:PRU) Regulation Authority said banks entered the pandemic, which has put Britain into lockdown, with strong capital positions, enough to withstand a severe UK and global recession.

The PRA said the banks would suspend dividends and buybacks until the end of this year and cancel payments of any outstanding 2019 dividends in response to a request from the PRA.