JPMorgan Chase & Co. Stops Stock Buybacks, Maintains Dividend-Reuters

Reuters reported that JPMorgan Chase & Co., CEO Jamie Dimon took another step that showed humility and caution in the wake of a stunning $2 billion loss, or more, on derivatives by announcing on Monday that the Company will quit spending capital on stock buybacks. The Company will suspend for now a $15 billion share repurchase plan that Federal Reserve regulators had just approved in March after running stress tests on the bank's capital, Dimon said at an investor conference. The move will give JPMorgan added protection against having to reduce its quarterly dividend of 30 cents a share, which Dimon said the bank will maintain. Dimon said at Monday's conference that the bank is holding off on buybacks to make sure it stays on its planned "glide path" to reach rising capital requirements being imposed under so-called Basel 3 standards. Dimon said the bank intends to restart stock buybacks once it has replenished the lost capital.