HSBC and Standard Chartered shares dive after dividends scrapped

HSBC and Standard Chartered shares nosedived in Hong Kong on Wednesday after the banking giants said they were cancelling dividends and buybacks at the request of regulators because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The announcements came after Britain's Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) wrote to lenders to ask them to cancel payments of any outstanding dividends to secure capital reserves for the ongoing economic crisis.

HSBC's shares plunged 9.51 percent to HK$40.0 while Standard Chartered fell 7.64 percent to HK$39.9 ($5.2) on the Hang Seng Index. UK-listed banks Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays also cancelled dividends.

The PRA welcomed the decision to suspend dividends and buybacks and said it also expected banks "not to pay any cash bonuses to senior staff, including all material risk-takers".

Banks are being hammered by market volatility and the economic slowdown caused by the virus crisis. But they are also on the receiving end of huge bailouts and support from central banks and regulators.

The HSBC board said it has cancelled the fourth interim dividend and will "make no quarterly or interim dividend payment" or "undertake any share buy-backs" until the end of 2020.

"The board regrets the impact this cancellation will have on our shareholders," HSBC said in a statement.

The Asia-focused bank axed 35,000 jobs in February and posted slumping annual profits for last year.

Standard Chartered said it had made a similar decision to suspend its share buy-backs programme after "careful consideration" following the PRA request.

It added that the final dividend of 2020 will take into account the financial performance of the group for the full year and the medium-term outlook at that time.

Both banks are expecting their first quarter results near the end of April.