The company announces that the directors have recommended a final dividend of £364 million, or 3p per ordinary share (2019 - nil), subject to shareholder approval at the Annual General Meeting on 28 April 2021.
Other financial highlights include:
●Full year 2020 operating loss of £351 million and an attributable loss of £753 million. Q4 2020 operating profit before tax of £64 million and an attributable loss of £109 million.
●Full year 2020 net impairment losses of £3,242 million, or 88 basis points of gross customer loans, resulted in an expected credit loss (ECL) coverage ratio of 1.66%.
●In comparison to 2019, income across the retail and commercial businesses, excluding notable items, decreased by 10.0% as the lower yield curve, subdued business activity and lower consumer spending were partially offset by strong balance growth.
●2020 Bank net interest margin (NIM) of 1.71% decreased by 28 basis points compared with 2019. Q4 2020 Bank NIM of 1.66% increased by 1 basis point in comparison to Q3 2020 as lower average central liquidity and improved asset margins more than offset reduced structural hedge income as a result of lower swap rates.
●A cost reduction of £277 million was achieved during 2020, ahead of their £250 million target for the year.
