Central bank handed over €428M in dividends to state in 2020

  • Lusa
  • 13 May 2021

Between dividends and taxes on current income, the Bank of Portugal handed over to the State a total of €671 million, lower than the amount handed over in 2020, which was €956 million.

The Bank of Portugal (BoP) handed the State dividends of €428 million for last year, below the €607 million for 2019, according to the Board of Directors Report released on Thursday.

Between dividends and taxes on current income, the central bank handed over to the State a total of €671 million, lower than the amount handed over in 2020, which was €956 million.

The dividends and taxes are relative to the result calculated in 2020, a year in which the bank made a profit of €535 million, when in 2019 the profits were €759 million.

According to the BoP, “the net result was €535 million, €31 million higher than the result budgeted for 2020.”

In the State Budget for 2021, the government forecasted that, relative to 2020, BoP would deliver dividends of €374.5 million to the State.

As for the items that contributed to the results, the highlight goes to interest amounting to €802 million, whose main component is the interest on securities held for monetary policy purposes, amounting to €882 million.

According to the BoP, interest payable from refinancing operations to credit institutions in the amount of €202 million was recognised.

“Realised results on financial operations and unrealised losses, amounting to -€21 million, associated with the devaluation of the US dollar that occurred in the last months of the year,” the statement accompanying the report reads.

Operating expenses totalled €196 million, down €9.0 million on 2019, with staff expenses down 5%, “mainly reflecting the decrease in early retirement expenses”.

At the end of 2020, Bop’s balance sheet amounted to €192 billion, a figure €33 billion higher than at the end of 2019.

“This increase stemmed essentially from the measures adopted to mitigate the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the economy”.

In the evolution of the balance sheet, on the assets side, the central bank highlights the increase in monetary policy assets by 30 billion and the increase in gold and management assets, mainly related to the increase in the price of gold by 14%.

On the liabilities side, the BoP highlights the increase in deposits from credit institutions by €12.4 billion, “a consequence of the significant injection of liquidity resulting from monetary policy measures” and “the significant growth of banknotes in circulation, 11% in the Eurosystem total, as a result of the increased uncertainty in Europe at the beginning of the pandemic.”