Accord Financial Corp. (TSX – ACD) (“Accord” or the “Company”) today announced that its Board of Directors has approved a reduction of its quarterly dividend from nine cents ($0.09) per common share to five cents ($0.05) per common share. The dividend is payable June 1, 2020 to shareholders of record at the close of business on May 15, 2020.
Simon Hitzig, the Company’s President and CEO advised, “We’re in a period of unparalleled economic disruption. We entered the economic downturn with a well-diversified portfolio and strong capital base, but the length and scale of the disruption remains to be seen.” Mr. Hitzig added, “We’ve chosen to decrease the quarterly dividend for two reasons: first, to retain more capital in the business, maintaining balance sheet strength through this challenging period, and second, to make sure we can capitalize on the growth opportunities we’re beginning to see as some of our competitors back away.”