The biggest banks in the U.S. unveiled seven of the ten largest stock buybacks in the second quarter, led by a $10.6 billion program at New York-based JPMorgan Chase & Co. In total the major banks earmarked some $35.5 billion to trim share counts that had soared in the wake of the financial crisis, when they needed to issue stock to keep themselves afloat. The buyback rush came off as a kind of celebration-the banks had had to wait until after they passed the2016 Federal Reserve stress tests in June to announce those programs. Certainly, it represented a long-withheld positive gesture toward shareholders.
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