No dividends for shareholders of banks that closed 2012 in the red or that have a core tier 1 ratio below the "target" level. This is what the Bank of Italy prescribes to credit institutions.
“All banks – reads the communication – will have to adopt dividend distribution policies which make it possible to maintain, at an individual and consolidated level, conditions of capital adequacy, current and prospective, consistent with the complex of risks assumed, suitable for favoring the progressive alignment with the prudential requirements that will soon come into force (Crr and Crd IV) and to ensure coverage of the internal capital levels calculated within the ICAAP process”.
Therefore, "intermediaries that close the 2012 financial year with a loss or have a Core tier 1 ratio lower than the 'objective' level communicated by the Supervisory Authority (target ratio) must avoid proceeding with the distribution of dividends, even from capital reserves" .
For banks whose core tier 1 ratio exceeds the threshold value indicated to them (trigger ratio) by a limited margin (less than 1 pp), the Bank of Italy expects "particular prudence in defining the amount of dividends to be distributed, in any case to be contained within 50% of the distributable profit for the year".
