Deutsche Bank AG announced it will return €700 million to shareholders through dividends and stock buybacks as it resumes capital distributions after a long break.

The bank last paid a dividend in 2019.

CEO Christian Sewing scrapped payouts in previous years to cover the cost of a major turnaround program.

“The management board of Deutsche Bank AG … has decided to initiate a share repurchase program of 300 million euros to be completed in the first half of 2022,” said Deutsche Bank.

“All required regulatory approvals have been received.

“The management board also intends to propose a cash dividend of 0.20 euro per share for the financial year 2021.

“Together, these actions would provide a total capital distribution to shareholders of approximately 700 million euros and represent the first step towards a previously announced commitment to return 5 billion euros of capital to shareholders over time.”