The National Bank of Belgium urges Belgian credit institutions and (re)insurers to suspend their dividend payments until at least 1 January 2021 and encourages them to maintain a cautious attitude towards variable remuneration and profit sharing.

As a result of the COVID-19 crisis, Belgian economic activity fell by 12.2% in the second quarter of 2020 compared to the previous quarter. According to first estimates, the decline in economic activity is approximately equally strong in industry, construction and services: value added fell by 13.0%, 13.3% and 11.8% respectively.

The coronavirus epidemic has significantly slowed down private consumption. However, after the lockdown, household consumption does not seem to be reviving immediately: the majority of consumers indicate that they visit shops and catering establishments less frequently than before, mainly because of the measures in force and health concerns. That is the result of a survey conducted by the National Bank of Belgium (NBB) from 14 to 21 July in collaboration with the Microsoft Innovation Center.

All sectors of activity are benefiting from the improvement, except for business-related services. It is in the manufacturing industry that morale among company managers has firmed up the most.  

The ECB successfully calmed markets, limited fragmentation, and kept the bank lending channel intact. Looking ahead, the job is far from done as the post COVID-19 world will feature low growth and a big debt overhang.

The recovery of consumer confidence that began in May has been interrupted by a slight deterioration in July. The vulnerability of households is growing as they dip more and more into their savings to cover their everyday expenditure.

The COVID-19 health crisis plunged the economy abruptly into an unprecedented recession. The human and economic consequences are immense. The High Council for Employment has drawn up a state of affairs on the labour market in Belgium and in the regions in the context of COVID-19.