Bank profitability bigger issue than solvency - French central banker
27/11/2020 08:13
PARIS, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Banks are facing a bigger
challenge over their profitability than their solvency, Bank of
France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau said on Friday,
arguing in favour of lifting a dividend ban.
Villeroy said that low interest rates had eroded European
banks' profitability while the sector remained fragmented and
vulnerable to shocks.
In France, the current economic crisis was weighing more on
banks' capacity to generate profits than their financial health,
Villeroy said.
"The issue today is less about solvency than about the
health of French financial institutions," Villeroy told a
conference at the ACPR French financial authority.
(Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
((leigh.thomas@thomsonreuters.com; +33 1 4949 5143;))