A&L says too soon to decide on dividend

LONDON, May 13 (Reuters) - British bank Alliance & Leicester (ALLL.L: Quote, Profile, Research), which warned in February it could leave its dividend unchanged in 2008, said on Tuesday it was still too soon to decide on the payout.

"In terms of the dividend, it is exactly as it was in February. I said then we were walking a tightrope between overall profitability and maintaining the dividend and we are still walking a tightrope," finance director Chris Rhodes told analysts on a conference call. He added that treasury market values and impairment charges were worse than expected in the first months of 2008.

"It is too early to call the dividend one way or another until we have the half-year numbers and some stability in treasury prices. We remain comfortable with where we sit at the moment and the guidance we gave you in February," he said.

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(Reporting by Clara Ferreira-Marques)