UBS, Credit Suisse to stagger dividend

Credit Suisse and UBS, Switzerland's big two banks, announced Thursday they would pay this year's dividend in two instalments, taking into account the coronavirus pandemic.

The moves follow a request from FINMA, the country's financial watchdog. The final decision will be taken by shareholders at general meetings, on April 29 for UBS and April 30 for Credit Suisse.

Authorities in many countries have pressed banks and top companies to scrap dividends and bonuses in order to conserve cash as the coronavirus crisis plays havoc with the global economy, now expected to suffer a major recession or even depression. FINMA, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, welcomed the banks' precautionary decision "despite their position of capital strength". FINMA said it was "a way of simultaneously dealing with the major uncertainties associated with the COVID-19 crisis and addressing shareholders' expectations". UBS said it intends to pay its dividend of $0.73 per share for 2019 in two instalments of $0.365, on May 7 and November 19.

Switzerland's biggest bank, which publishes its full quarterly results on April 28, announced Thursday that it expects a first quarter net profit of around $1.5 billion. Chairman Axel Weber said that despite the bank's financial strength being well above regulatory requirements, they had "adjusted the 2019 dividend payout proposal given the high and unprecedented uncertainty".

UBS also said it was taking part in the Swiss government's plan to prop up the economy during the coronavirus crisis, granting companies state-backed loans while stressing it will "make no profit from this support". Meanwhile Credit Suisse said it would split its dividend payout of 0.2776 Swiss francs per share with two payouts of 0.1388 francs - one in this quarter and one towards the end of the year.

"While the board remains of the opinion that Credit Suisse's financial strength would have continued to support the original dividend proposal made to our shareholders, we believe that this... is a prudent and responsible step to preserving capital in the face of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic," the bank said in a statement.