BANKS' SHAREHOLDERS IN A FEW MONTHS WILL RECEIVE DIVIDENDS - NBM PRESIDENT OCTAVIAN ARMASU

The banks' shareholders may receive dividends in a few months, - the President of the National Bank of Moldova (NBM), Octavian Armasu, said. He stated in an interview with Radio Free Europe that "the NBM had recommended refraining from paying dividends in 2020."

"I will explain why. The economy has been hit by the crisis caused by the COVID pandemic this year. Enterprises in several sectors are losing their ability to return loans. We anticipate that this may have an impact on the quality of portfolios, leading to an increase in non-performing loans (NPLs). It has not materialized yet, although we are seeing a slight increase in NPLs," the Governor stressed.

Armasu explained that "the National Bank recommended the banks to pay dividends next year after conducting the audit."

"There will be financial statements for 2020. The auditors will once again check the quality of the portfolios, and we will have confidence that there is no danger to the banks' capital, and therefore they will be able to pay dividends," the Governor noted.

He recalled that "the NBM, first of all, ensures macro-financial stability, stability of the financial sector, safety of deposits of the population."

"And when we are sure that the payment of dividends will not affect this stability, the banks will be able to pay them. I don't think we will have to wait long," the official concluded.