Citigroup Inc. on 21st November 2017, announced that it will increase its common stock repurchase program by up to $1.75 billion. This amount is in addition to the $10.4 billion in planned capital actions announced earlier this year, which includes an increase of Citi’s quarterly common stock dividend to $0.16 per share and a common stock repurchase program of up to $8.6 billion.
Combined with the repurchase announced today, Citi’s total planned capital actions will increase to $12.2 billion. The additional buybacks will allow Citi to further reduce the amount of its outstanding common shares. In the past two years, Citi has lowered the amount of outstanding common shares by 180 million or 6 percent.
Citi’s Board of Directors has authorized the increase and Citi has received a non-objection from the Federal Reserve Board regarding this addition to the planned capital actions requested as part of the 2016 Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review (CCAR).
Michael Corbat, Citi’s Chief Executive Officer, said, “We continue to make strong progress on the factors that will allow us to deliver the returns our shareholders expect and deserve – generating consistent earnings, investing in businesses well positioned to drive growth and continuing to strengthen our capital planning process. We believe this solid foundation will enable us to deliver more of the capital we generate from earnings, DTA utilization and divestments back to our shareholders, while also positioning our firm for long-term success.”
Repurchases by Citi under the common stock repurchase program may be effected from time to time through open market purchases, trading plans established in accordance with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rules or other means, depending on satisfactory market conditions, applicable legal requirements and other factors. The common stock repurchase program does not obligate Citi to repurchase any particular amount of common stock, and it may be suspended at any time at Citi’s discretion.
