Capita Asset Services has found that a total of £29.2 billion was paid out in dividends by UK companies in the second quarter of this year, the highest level of shareholder payments since 2008.

Underlying dividends accounted for roughly £28.3 billion of total pay-outs; this figure was subsequently pushed up to its full total by special dividend payments. Banks unsurprisingly contributed a great deal, with HSBC hiking its payments and Lloyds paying out a total of £595 million, in its first dividend payment since the close of 2008.

Capita now forecasts that total underlying dividends will reach £84.8 billion in 2015.

For weekly news updates, subscribe to our email newsletter.

Related: Soames says Serco in “good order” despite year-on-year profit decline