According to Polish daily Puls Biznesu, the management board will decide today on the proposition of dividend to be submitted at the AGM in April. Jacek Ksen, the CEO of BZ WBK, has stated that the high capital adequacy ratio would imply a high dividend payout, but the Basel II regulations introduction may depress the solvency ratio by 3-4 bp. The CEO has also mentioned that the dividend per share should not be expected to be lower than last year payment of PLN 6 per share.
Our view: Given the BZ WBK’s solvency ratio of above 15.0%, one of the highest in the sector, we expect a payout ratio of 85%, which would equal to DPS of PLN 8.75 per share (a dividend yield of 3.4%).