Summary
American Express Company (AXP) announced on March 26, 2014, that the Federal Reserve did not object to its capital return plans. This includes significant share repurchases and a planned increase in quarterly dividends, signaling strong capital adequacy and confidence from regulators. The company intends to repurchase up to $4.4 billion in shares during 2014 and an additional $1.0 billion in the first quarter of 2015. Furthermore, AXP plans to raise its quarterly dividend from $0.23 to $0.26 per share, effective from the second quarter of 2014, subject to board approval. These actions are designed to return capital to shareholders and are contingent on business performance, financial results, and market conditions.
Key Highlights
- 1Federal Reserve approval for significant capital return to shareholders.
- 2Planned share repurchases totaling up to $4.4 billion in 2014 and $1.0 billion in Q1 2015.
- 3Increase in quarterly dividend to $0.26 per share from $0.23 per share, starting Q2 2014.
- 4Capital return plans are subject to board approval, business plans, financial performance, and market conditions.
- 5Company may utilize Rule 10b5-1 trading plans to facilitate share repurchases.
- 6Disclosure also references results of the Company-run stress test under Federal Reserve's Regulation YY.