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Turning Off the Dividend Spigot

As European regulators search for solutions to poor bank performance, they should consider banks’ revenue distribution as part of the problem. If under-capitalized banks had not been paying out dividends in recent years, they would have retained enough equity to reduce today's capital shortfalls significantly.

NEW YORK – European banks’ high litigation and restructuring costs have resulted in major losses on their books and abysmal stock-market performance. As the industry and European regulators now reflect on this dismal state of affairs and search for solutions, they should consider banks’ revenue distribution – including employee bonuses and shareholder dividends – as part of the problem.

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