RBS slips on concern about dividend reinstatement plans

Shares in RBS fell on Monday with some market commentary referencing worries that another year of losses might put the lender’s plan to reinstate dividend payments in jeopardy.

In an interview with Bloomberg TV on 15 January the lender’s chairman, Howard Davies, said: “We’ve got some wood to chop before we can be firm”.

“We’ve said that this would be a 2017 event at the earliest. We’re still hopeful of that.”

That led Steve Davis, a fund manager at Jupiter Asset Management, to tell the newswire “regulators would be pretty wary of letting them pay dividends if they aren’t making a proper statutory profit,” Bloomberg reported on Monday.

However, should the regulator feel “comfortable” with the bank’s financial strength then RBS could carry out a stock repurchase programme.

Stock in the lender finished the session 1.63% weaker at 260.2p.