IMF's Georgieva: Halt bank dividends and buybacks now – Financial Times

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva advised banks to halt dividends and buybacks, as reported by the Financial Times.

"All stakeholders will ultimately benefit if banks preserve capital instead of paying out to shareholders during the pandemic," Georgieva explained. "One of the steps needed to reinforce bank buffers is retaining earnings from ongoing operations.

Market reaction

These comments don't seem to be having a significant impact on market sentiment. As of writing, the UK's FTSE 100 was down 0.85% on the day at 6,015 points and Germany's DAX 30 was at 11,071 points, losing 1.4%.