Bank of America pays U.S. $713M in dividends
The board at Bank of America Corp. has authorized the payment of $713 million in dividends to the U.S. government under the Troubled Asset Relief Program.
Bank of America received $45 billion in federal funds from the program, which is designed to thaw the credit markets. Some $20 billion of that amount came as part of Bank of America’s purchase of troubled brokerage Merrill Lynch & Co health insurance. Inc. on Jan. 1.
Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), the fourth largest bank in the Philadelphia area by deposits, paid its first installment of $402 million in dividends to the federal government in February.