The boards of OneSavings Bank PLC and Charter Court Financial Services Group PLC declared interim dividends of 4.9 pence per share and 4.3 pence per share for the first half, respectively, up from 4.3 pence per share and 2.8 pence per share a year earlier.
The British challenger banks, which have signed an all-share merger that is pending regulatory approval, said the interim dividends, which are based on one-third of their respective total full-year 2018 dividends, will be paid to shareholders Sept. 20.
OneSavings Bank noted that it expects to deliver "high-teens" net loan book growth in 2019 at "attractive" margins, despite the uncertainty surrounding the U.K.'s departure from the European Union, driven by organic lending and strong retention. Charter Court concluded from its stress testing of Brexit risks that the business would remain profitable, and would be able to continue its planned growth and operate within risk appetite limits.
OneSavings Bank reported unaudited first-half profit attributable to ordinary shareholders of £62.5 million, down from £67.1 million a year earlier. The lender's net loan book grew to £9.9 billion from £8.1 billion a year ago, while net interest margin was 278 basis points, compared to 301 basis points in the first half of 2018.
For the first half, Charter Court reported profit after tax of £62.3 million, compared to £71.1 million in the same period of 2018.
