Bank of England says no plans to change stance on bank dividends

LONDON - The Bank of England does not intend to change its stance on banks paying dividends to shareholders because of the risks posed by Omicron variant of the coronavirus, a top official at the central bank said on Monday.

Deputy Governor Sam Woods told reporters that banks would probably have to hold back on dividend payments in some of the worst-case scenarios spelled out in its annual health check of the banking sector.

"But for the moment, it's BAU (business as usual) on dividends," he said.