Morgan Stanley $12 Billion Share Buyback... US Banks Increasing Share Buybacks and Dividends

[Photo by Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] Morgan Stanley announced on the 28th (local time) that it will double its quarterly dividend and plans to repurchase $12 billion worth of shares, CNBC reported on the same day.

This is because the U.S. central bank, the Federal Reserve (Fed), lifted restrictions on share repurchases and dividends after confirming the soundness of banks in the stress test (capital adequacy assessment) results announced on the 24th.

Accordingly, Morgan Stanley announced that it will raise its quarterly dividend to 70 cents per share starting from the third quarter. It also added that it plans to repurchase up to $12 billion worth of shares by June next year.

James Gorman, CEO of Morgan Stanley, explained the reason for announcing the shareholder return policy in a statement, saying, "Morgan Stanley has accumulated significant excess capital over the past few years, becoming one of the banks with the most capital flexibility."

Following the Fed's stress test results announcement, banks are successively announcing share repurchase and dividend plans.

JPMorgan Chase raised its dividend per share by 11% to $1. Bank of America (BOA) also increased its dividend per share by 17% to 21 cents. BOA had previously announced a $25 billion share repurchase plan in April.

Goldman Sachs also announced plans to increase its dividend per share by 60% to $2. Wells Fargo announced it will double its dividend per share to 20 cents and plans to repurchase $18 billion worth of shares starting from the third quarter.

Citigroup, unlike other banks, did not announce any dividend increase or new share repurchase plans.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.