The government allowed VTB to cut dividends five times

VTB Bank may reduce the amount of dividends five times: from the planned 50% to 10% of net profit under IFRS for 2019, according to a government decree .

Quotes of the bank's shares on this news fell by more than 5%, according to the data of the Moscow Exchange .

The bank's profit for the past year amounted to about 200 billion rubles. The government's order means that instead of 100.6 billion rubles, shareholders can receive only 20.12 billion rubles in dividends. The exact amount of dividends will be approved at the annual meeting of shareholders on September 3.

• In early May, VTB board member Dmitry Pyanov admitted that VTB could adjust the management's recommendation due to the crisis and pandemic, as well as due to falling bank income, as well as losses from restructuring. He did not rule out that dividends could be reduced only on preferred shares owned by government agencies.

• According to the results of the first quarter of 2020, VTB's net profit decreased by 14.4% (the amount amounted to 38.9 billion rubles) compared to the same period last year.

• Preferred shares of VTB are owned by the Ministry of Finance and the DIA, the Russian Federation, represented by the Federal Property Management Agency, owns 61% of ordinary shares. Free float of the state bank, according to the Moscow Exchange, 27%, capitalization - 504 billion rubles.