Financial firms e.g. banks and insurance firms are under pressure from regulators to reduce dividends.
In some cases, the reduction is 100%. Some are using COVID as an excuse to reduce dividends.
- Look at NCBA.
- - Equity too but at least I can buy it given the $95mn purchase of BCDC when it is tough to raise funds.
SCBK had a 50% reduction of a nice dividend.
I&M and DTB paid the dividend but it was lousy (low dividend payout ration esp DTB) anyway.
FY 2020 (in 2021) may be worse given the huge NPL hits.
I think insurance firms (including Kenya Re) will do in 2021 what banks did in 2020. That said, the 10 cents is a very low payout and might not reduced.
COVID remains a threat as we head to 2021.
Greedy when others are fearful. Very fearful when others are greedy - to paraphrase Warren Buffett