2021, the year of redemption. It may sound like the title of a film but in reality it is the hope of listed banks with respect to the distribution of dividends. After the blockade imposed by the European Central Bank in 2020 due to the pandemic, the institutions are betting on easing restrictions and announcing the coupons to be distributed to their shareholders. A dish which, although far from the glories of past years, still presents some excellent opportunities.
Let's start with Intesa San Paolo. The leading bank in the country confirmed the distribution of 3,57 euro cents per share, the maximum allowed by the ECB rules, for a total amount of 693,67 million euro: comparing the unit amount to the reference price of the security recorded on 4 February last, (the day before the announcement of the accounts) would result in a yield equal to 1,8 .10%. The institute led by Carlo Messina, after the Eurotower's go-ahead, also provides for a cash distribution from reserves of 5 cents per share, with a 2020% yield based on 2021 earnings. Finally, this time it should be added on 70 earnings , an additional coupon with a pay-out equal to XNUMX% of the net profit. A part of this coupon will be distributed already this year in the form of a down payment.
Moving on to Unicredit, the bank of Piazza Gae Aulenti announced a dividend of 0,12 euro per share, equal to a dividend yield of 1,41%. In April 2021, the shareholders' meeting will also be called to give the green light to an extraordinary capital distribution of 652 million euros, entirely in the form of treasury share buybacks, to be carried out in the third quarter of 2021.
The coupons guaranteed by the consultancy networks are very attractive. The savings management company they have brilliantly overcome the crisis brought about by the pandemic, presenting very robust capital situations. A circumstance that translates positively in terms of returns on the respective securities.
Taking into consideration only the yield, Banca Generali stands out above all, which presented the preliminary accounts on 10 February. The board led by Gian Maria Mossa has proposed to the shareholders' meeting a coupon of 3,3 euros per share with a 70,5% pay-out on the cumulative profits for 2019-2020. Shareholders will therefore be able to count on a very high dividend yield, equal to 11,5%.
In managed savings, we find a step lower Banca Mediolanum which announced a total coupon of 573,3 million, 0,781 per share. Also in this case the return is in the double digits: 10,2%.
So far the known numbers. In the world of network banks, the proposed dividend of FinecoBank, whose board did not pronounce on the occasion of the preliminary results published on February 9th.
Finally, a slightly different speech for Azimuth holding that as a pure asset manager, in 2020 he was able to detach the coupon, not having to submit to recommendations from the European Central Bank. For 2021, analysts expect a dividend of 1 euro per share, stable compared to last year. If that were the case, the return to shareholders at current prices would be around 5%.
