Bank of America resubmits request for dividend increase: WSJ

(Reuters) - Bank of America Corp has asked regulators to approve a higher quarterly dividend of 5 cents per share after it withdrew a previously planned increase in April, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The bank withdrew its previously planned increase to 5 cents from 1 cent per share, after it found errors that reduced a key capital level by $4 billion. The second-largest U.S. bank said it had resubmitted its new capital plan in May but did not provide details. Bank of America declined to comment on the report. In the latest proposal, the bank is seeking approval for a smaller share buyback than proposed in April, the Journal reported without providing a figure. The bank had sought to buy back $4 billion of shares. The Federal Reserve has until about Aug. 10 to rule on the bank's request, the paper said. (http://on.wsj.com/1mj6INP) The previously planned dividend increase would have been the first for the bank since the financial crisis, and raising it has been a top priority for Chief Executive Brian Moynihan. Prior to the 2008 financial crisis, the bank paid a quarterly dividend of as much as 64 cents per share. Since the crisis, U.S. banks have been required to seek approval from the Fed for dividend increases and buybacks. Bank of America shares were down 1.7 percent at $15.34 in premarket trading on Thursday. Up to Wednesday's close, they had fallen about 1.5 percent in the last month. (Reporting by Tanya Agrawal; Editing by Ted Kerr)