American Express Co. bought back the last of the government's stake by paying $340 million for warrants held by the Treasury Department's bailout program, reports Bloomberg News.
The warrants would have entitled the U.S. to buy 24.3 million common shares, the New York company said Wednesday in a federal filing. The payments by American Express to the Troubled Asset Relief Program, including dividends on preferred shares, gave taxpayers a 26% annual return, the company said.
American Express said June 17 it had repurchased the government's $3.39 billion preferred stake.
