The board of directors of Ringkjøbing Landbobank A/S proposed a dividend of 36 Danish kroner per share for 2016, up from 30 kroner per share in 2015.

The board also proposed that shareholders at the annual general meeting, or AGM, approve a share buyback program of up to 170 million Danish kroner, under which shares can be bought for cancellation at a future meeting. The board will propose the cancellation of 100,000 shares bought under a similar program in 2016, which saw repurchases amounting to 140.4 million kroner.

Full-year 2016 net profit amounted to 539 million kroner, up from 459 million kroner in 2015.

In addition, the bank said Inge Sandgrav Bak and Gert Asmussen will step down from the board of directors and the bank's shareholder committee, with effect from the Feb. 22 AGM. The shareholder committee will hold an election to the board April 26.

Board member Jørgen Lund Pedersen will retire from the board as of the AGM, based on the age requirement in the lender's articles of association. The shareholder committee elected Jon Steingrim Johnsen, COO of PFA Pension, to replace Pederson.

As of Jan. 31, US$1 was equivalent to 6.89 Danish kroner.