April 27, 2010, 10:46 PM EDT
By Dakin Campbell
April 27 (Bloomberg) -- Wells Fargo & Co., the fourth- largest U.S. bank by assets and deposits, may raise its dividend once capital levels satisfy regulators and if the economic recovery continues, said Chief Executive Officer John Stumpf.
Cutting the dividend was one of “the most difficult decisions,” he’s had to make, on par with buying Wachovia Corp. or accepting bailout funds, Stumpf told investors today at the annual shareholder meeting in San Francisco. The dividend is “a high-priority item for the board.”
Stumpf, 56, slashed the dividend to 5 cents a share from 34 cents in March last year to save about $5 billion annually. Rival JPMorgan Chase & Co., the nation’s second-largest bank by assets and deposits, said earlier this month that increasing a payout to shareholders is “down the road a little more.”
Amid eight topics up for a shareholder vote, all four management-sponsored proposals passed, including increasing the authorized share count from 6 billion to 9 billion and approving compensation for Stumpf and other executives. Four shareholder actions, including a vote on having an independent chairman, were defeated, said Laurel Holschuh, the company secretary. All 16 board members were elected to remain as directors.
Shareholders, led by Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s Warren Buffett, have watched the company’s stock rise more than 300 percent since it reached a low of $7.80 on March 5, 2009. Wells Fargo fell $1.00, or 3.1 percent, to $31.72 at 4 p.m. today in New York Stock Exchange trading.
Stumpf was the highest-paid bank chief in 2009, taking in $21.3 million. Wells Fargo issued almost 500 million shares in December to repay $25 billion in taxpayer funds.
--Editors: Dan Reichl, Alec McCabe.
Share Investor Blog - Stockmarket & Business commentary
Discuss this topic @ Share Investor Forum - Register free
Download the 1977 - 2009 Warren Buffett Letter's to Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders
Recommended Amazon Reading
 | The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America, Second Edition by Warren E. Buffett Buy new: $25.94 / Used from: $25.93 Usually ships in 24 hours |
 | The Intelligent Investor: The Definitive Book on Value Investing. A Book of Practical Counsel (Revised Edition) by Benjamin Graham Buy new: $14.77 / Used from: $8.72 Usually ships in 24 hours |
No comments:
Post a Comment