![“I don’t think … [halting dividends] is appropriate this time,” said Fed Chair Jerome Powell. But his predecessor, Janet Yellen, said holding on to income gives banks a “buffer” to further ”support the credit needs of the economy.”](https://arizent.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/7e45f72/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3998x2667+0+0/resize/1024x683!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsource-media-brightspot.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2F40%2Fb4%2F76873fe44e4599186506d287c6be%2Fpowell-jerome-yellen-bl-041720.jpg)
Large institutions say their strong capital positions allow them to reward investors, and the Fed agrees. But critics say this is the time to be preparing for a sharp downturn and continue helping those hurt by the coronavirus pandemic.
Large institutions say their strong capital positions allow them to reward investors, and the Fed agrees. But critics say this is the time to be preparing for a sharp downturn and continue helping those hurt by the coronavirus pandemic.