The Tribune

Commonwealth Bank’s 6,000-plus shareholders will have a little more money to spend during the holidays this year when the bank issues a pre-Christmas extraordinary dividend of $0.06 per share.

The extraordinary dividend pay-out is slated for November 28, and will benefit those who purchased shares prior to November 21.

Along with regular quarterly dividends, the bank, which shares 65 per cent of its profits with shareholders, will pay a total of $0.30 per share in 2014, nearly $30 million in value.

Since the largest Bahamian bank went public in 2000 with an oversubscribed initial public offering (IPO), it has paid consistent quarterly dividends and, in most years, at least one additional extraordinary dividend, a combination that has helped build stock retention, bank loyalty and share value, even during economically challenging periods.

Last week, the bank released its third quarter results, reporting $38.3 million in comprehensive net income for the first nine months of the fiscal year.

The bank has assets of $1.48 billion, is capitalised at levels far exceeding Central Bank requirements, and is running at less than half the industry standard for non-performing or impaired loans.

Executive chairman William B. Sands, Jr. said Commonwealth Bank remains “cautiously optimistic” about the economy as it prepares for the introduction of Value-Added Tax (VAT) in 2015.