UK investors tell companies to rethink bonuses if scrapping dividends

LONDON, April 1 (Reuters) - Britain's investment managers
would expect banks and other companies to rethink bonuses if
they are scrapping payouts to shareholders, the Investment
Association said on Wednesday.

Top UK banks have scrapped dividends for 2019 and interim
dividends for 2020 after being asked to do so by the Bank of
England, with other firms also stopping payouts as the economy
remains in lockdown.

The current situation should, however, not be used to
"rebase or reduce" dividends unneccesarily, IA Chief Executive
Chris Cummings said in a statement.

"Shareholders would expect companies to restart them as soon
as it is prudent to do so," Cummings said.

Companies that stop paying dividends to shareholders should
also consider how this impacts on executive pay for this year
and for the year the dividend had been intended for, Cummings
said.

The Bank of England has also asked top lenders not to pay
bonuses this year.

(Reporting by Huw Jones)