KNF has issued on its opinion concerning the dividend policy in 2021 for financial companies, including insurance companies, reinsurance companies and insurance and reinsurance companies.
According to the said document, „the immediate goal of the KNF’s dividend policy is to ensure the stability of the Polish financial sector by adjusting the capital base of supervised entities to the level of risk incurred by them and protection of recipients of financial services of these entities.”
For the insurance sector, the KNF recommends that only companies that meet the following criteria may pay out dividents:
- for payments from profit for 2019 – the criteria set out in the KNF communication on the position of the supervisory authority on the assumptions of the dividend policy of commercial banks, cooperative and associating banks as well as insurance companies, reinsurance companies and insurance and reinsurance companies in 2020 of 3 December 2019 r;
- for payments from profit for 2020 – jointly the following criteria:
- received a good risk assessment under the SREP for 20191 or satisfactory;
- in particular quarters of 2020, they did not show a shortage of own funds to cover the capital requirement (understood as the maximum of the minimum capital requirement (MCR) and the solvency capital requirement (SCR));
- in 2020 were not covered by the short-term financial plan or the recovery plan referred to in Art. 312 and 313 of the Act of September 11, 2015 on insurance and reinsurance activities;
- as at 31 December 2020, the amount of own funds without deducting expected dividends was at the level of at least 175% of the capital requirements for insurance, reinsurance and insurance and reinsurance undertakings operating in section I and at least 150% of the requirements capital for insurance companies, reinsurance companies and insurance and reinsurance companies operating in section II.
Insurance, reinsurance, and reinsurance companies meeting the above criteria may pay out a dividend in the amount of up to 100% of the profit generated in 2019 and 50% of the profit generated in 2020, while covering capital requirements (after deducting dividends) as at December 31, 2020 and for the quarter in which a dividend was paid, it will be at the level of at least 175% for insurance and reinsurance companies and insurance and reinsurance companies operating in Branch I and at least 150% for insurance and reinsurance companies and insurance and reinsurance companies operating in Branch II.
When deciding on the amount of dividend, insurance and reinsurance undertakings, insurance and reinsurance undertakings meeting the above criteria should take into account additional capital needs within twelve months from the approval of the financial statements for 2020, resulting from, inter alia, from changes in the market and legal environment, and in particular from high uncertainty as to the further development of the coronavirus pandemic, and thus possible further negative consequences of this state for the insurance, reinsurance, insurance and reinsurance companies.
