Banks Blessed by Feds Repay TARP

Updated from 11:40 a.m. EDT

Ten big financial firms said Wednesday they have begun to repay $68 billion in federal bailout money, taking a first major step toward regaining independence.

JPMorgan Chase (JPM Quote), Morgan Stanley (MS Quote), Goldman Sachs (GS Quote), American Express (AXP Quote), Bank of New York Mellon (BK Quote), Capital One (COF Quote), US Bancorp (USB Quote), BB&T (BBT Quote), Northern Trust (NTRS Quote) and State Street (STT Quote) said they have begun repaying funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Several banks also specified final dividend payments, which will cut into second-quarter results. Goldman, AmEx, BoNY Mellon, Northern Trust and BB&T said they also paid final dividends totaling $510 million. JPMorgan said it has paid a total of $795 million in preferred dividends through the final one. ...