ECB: Banks should be prudent when deciding about dividends

"Banks should be prudent when deciding about dividends and have a forward-looking view on risks to avoid a situation where capital needs would arise," a spokeswoman for the European Central Bank (ECB) said in a statement on Friday, per Reuters.

Market reaction

Markets remain risk-averse on Friday after staging a relief rally in the past few days. As of writing, the Euro Stoxx 50 Index was down 2.25% on the day while Germany's DAX was erasing 2.1%. On the other hand, the EUR/USD pair, which advanced to its highest level in more than a week at 1.1087 earlier in the day, was down 0.2% at 1.1005.