Eurobank shareholders approve €258.7 million dividend

Eurobank S.A. shareholders convened in a hybrid annual general meeting this week to approve a massive €258.7 million dividend distribution and a comprehensive share buyback programme.

The meeting, held April 28, saw participation from shareholders representing 76.98 per cent of the paid-up share capital, totalling over 2.77 billion voting shares.

Investors overwhelmingly backed the board’s proposal to distribute the dividend from the bank’s special reserves account, although the payout remains subject to final approval from the European Central Bank (ECB).

In a further move to return value to shareholders, the assembly approved a share buyback programme with a total cost limit of €288m, set to run for 12 months following regulatory clearance.

The bank also received the green light to cancel 28,097,019 own shares, a move that will see Eurobank’s share capital reduced by approximately €6.18m.

Following this cancellation, the total share capital of the bank will stand at €792,751,032.04, divided into roughly 3.6 billion common voting shares with a nominal value of €0.22 each.

Beyond shareholder returns, the meeting focused heavily on employee and executive compensation, approving a €35.2m distribution to staff from special reserves.

A new five-year programme for the free distribution of shares was established, scheduled to commence later this year for eligible executives and employees of the bank and its affiliates.

Shareholders also granted permission for a higher variable remuneration ratio, allowing the cap between fixed and variable pay to reach a maximum of 200 per cent for selected senior executive roles.

The bank’s leadership structure saw updates as the meeting ratified the election of Alexandra Reich as an independent non-executive member of the board of directors.

Reich replaces Jawaid Mirza, who resigned from the board, and her term is set to run until the annual general meeting in 2027.

With this appointment, the bank confirmed that eight out of its thirteen board members now hold independent non-executive status.

The assembly also approved an amendment to the articles of association regarding the board of directors, introducing the option for unequal terms of office and partial board renewals.

Meanwhile, audit and sustainability oversight for the coming year was formalised with the appointment of KPMG Certified Auditors S.A. as the statutory auditors for 2026.

The firm will receive €1.8m for the statutory audit of separate and consolidated statements, alongside €0.3m for the assurance of the bank’s sustainability statement.

The meeting concluded with a positive vote on the 2025 remuneration report and the approval of fees paid to board members for their committee duties during the past year.

Shareholders were also formally briefed on the annual activity report of the audit committee and the independent non-executive directors’ report for the 2025 financial year.