Follows ECB and suspends bank dividends/buybacks

The Bank of England has followed the ECB and released a statement that banks
will suspend dividends and buybacks. Full statement below:
"In its statement on 31 March, the PRA welcomed the decisions by the boards
of the large UK banks to suspend dividends and buybacks on ordinary shares
until the end of 2020, and set out its expectation that banks would not
pay cash bonuses to senior staff.

The PRA regards distributions as an important and necessary part of the
functioning of the banking system, but these decisions were a sensible
precautionary step given the unique role of banks in supporting the wider
economy through the period of economic disruption.

The PRA will undertake its assessment of firms' distribution plans beyond the
end of 2020 in Quarter 4 2020. The assessment will be based on the current
and projected capital positions of the banks and will take into account the
level of uncertainty about the future path of the economy, market conditions
and capital trajectories prevailing at that time."