In December 2015, BNP Paribas Fortis had remitted two billion euros to Paris and the BNP Paribas Group, which owns over 99.9% of the Belgian bank. The new “exceptional” dividend had been strongly contested at the time by unions because the firm had adopted a strategic plan that included cutting 1,050 posts in three years.
“For fiscal 2016 and 2017, BNP Paribas Fortis had decided not to share out the dividends, pending clarifications concerning the new equity requirements and given the integration of the recently acquired Arval,” leasing company, the bank explained.
Now BNP Paribas Fortis has reverted to its “normal dividend policy” and will this hand over an interim dividend of 3.36 euros per share, for a total sum of 1,899,052,538.88 euros, which corresponds to its consolidated profit for 2017.
The bank says this is a result of “healthy capital management”. It gave the assurance that it will remain well capitalised and that “the distribution of the dividend will have no impact on its capacity to continue investing in the growth of its activities and to play a major role in financing the Belgian economy.”
Jason Bennett
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