S&P 500 Banking Industry's Response To COVID-19

On June 25, 2020, the US Federal Reserve Bank issued a statement following its annual stress test of banks, saying that it would cap Q3 dividends for banks and prohibit share repurchases until Q4. COVID-19 has created a tumultuous economic environment for many companies. This has prompted many to respond with executive pay cuts and dividend reductions, and suspensions of share buyback programs.

In the wake of this economic situation and announcement by the FED, it is worth looking at how the banking sector responded to the COVID-19 crisis and its corporate governance implications. This article analyzes the S&P 500 Banks Industry Group Index which is broken up into two sub-indexes; S&P 500 Regional Bank Index and S&P 500 Diversified Bank Index.