\n
![](\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/img-assets\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/GettyImages-2152634442-e1719670883186.jpg?w=2048\")
<\/p>\n [ad_1]
\n<\/p>\n
The biggest US banks took turns announcing higher payouts to investors Friday after easily passing the Federal Reserve\u2019s annual stress test earlier this week.<\/p>\n
JPMorgan Chase<\/a> & Co., Goldman Sachs<\/a> Group Inc. and Bank of America<\/a> Corp. were among firms that announced the increases two days after the regulator\u2019s review showed that all 31 banks examined would maintain enough capital to withstand a hypothetical economic downturn.\u00a0<\/p>\n Citigroup<\/a> Inc., Wells Fargo<\/a> & Co. and Morgan Stanley<\/a>, as well as several other large lenders, also boosted their dividends. In addition, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley approved stock repurchase programs of as much as $30 billion and $20 billion, respectively.<\/p>\n Many of the banks\u2019 payouts had\u00a0already accelerated<\/a>\u00a0this year as they gained confidence that proposed tighter capital rules, known as Basel III Endgame, would be watered down.<\/p>\n The Fed required the banks to wait until after the market closed Friday to announce any updates, allowing time for each firm, as well as investors, to digest the results.\u00a0<\/p>\n This year\u2019s annual exam, a product of the 2008 financial crisis, included banks with at least $100 billion of assets. For the entire group, the so-called common equity tier 1 capital ratio \u2014 deemed to be the highest-quality regulatory capital \u2014 would bottom out at 9.9% in a \u201cseverely adverse\u201d economic scenario, well above the 4.5% minimum requirement.\u00a0<\/p>\n Even as banks breezed through, the stress tests are still the subject of intense debate among economists and policymakers. Excess volatility in the Fed\u2019s models means that the scenarios and exams should be subject to greater public scrutiny, according to Francisco Covas, head of research at the Bank Policy Institute.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n Bank<\/td>\n New quarterly dividend<\/td>\n Previous quarterly dividend<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Bank of America<\/td>\n 26 cents<\/td>\n 24 cents<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Citigroup<\/td>\n 56 cents<\/td>\n 53 cents<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n JPMorgan<\/td>\n $1.25<\/td>\n $1.15<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Morgan Stanley<\/td>\n 92.5 cents<\/td>\n 85 cents<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Wells Fargo<\/td>\n 40 cents<\/td>\n 35 cents<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Goldman Sachs<\/td>\n $3.00<\/td>\n $2.75<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n Subscribe to the Fortune Next to Lead newsletter to get weekly strategies on how to make it to the corner office. Sign up for free<\/a>.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n