The Polish Financial Supervision Authority proposed to increase the other systemically important institution, or OSII, buffer held by Banco Santander SA unit Santander Bank Polska SA to 0.75% of the total risk exposure from 0.50%, the lender said Sept. 17.
The final decision on the potential buffer hike will be taken by the regulator after Poland's Financial Stability Committee issues its opinion on the matter.
The potential OSII buffer hike will not affect the lender's dividend plans, news agency PAP reported Sept. 18, citing Santander Bank Polska CFO Maciej Reluga. The bank earlier said it planned to pay out 50% of profits as dividends, the newswire noted.
The FSA also recently proposed a similar OSII buffer hike for Commerzbank AG unit mBank SA.
The Polish regulator reviews OSII buffers for the country's biggest banks once a year. The highest buffer, amounting to 1%, is currently held by PKO Bank Polski SA.
