TITLE:
The Impact of Covid-19 on the Dividend Payout Policy: Evidence from the Italian Banking Industry
AUTHORS:
Marcello Forcellini, Gianfranco Antonio Vento, Eva Gracikova
KEYWORDS:
Financial Regulation, Covid-19 Pandemic, Dividends Policy, Signaling Theory, And Behavioral Finance
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.13 No.7,
July
4,
2025
ABSTRACT: The paper investigates how the Covid-19 pandemic affected the dividend payout policy of listed financial intermediaries on the Italian stock exchange. Utilising data from the 25 financial intermediaries listed on FTSE Mib, FTSE Mib Mid Cap, FTSE Mib Small Cap and FTSE Italia Star, the paper shows that several listed banks and insurance firms in the sample decided to keep paying dividends to provide the market with good signals during the outbreak. A logit multivariate regression model is performed to analyse the impact of some key metrics (regarding profitability, leverage, and liquidity) to dividend payout policy, before and during the pandemic. The findings show that the capability to generate cash flow is significant when continuing to increase dividend payouts, with respect to leverage and profitability.