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Banks Are Buying Back Stock Hand Over Fist, Including These 3 NamesAuthor: Leo Miller. Article Posted: 5/26/2026. 
Key Points
- Banking stocks have put up strong performance over the past year and a half, with a key ETF beating the S&P 500.
- Buybacks have been central to the strategy of many banks, and several top names just increased their capacity greatly.
- The Trump administration's policies have been a notable driver of increased buyback activity.
- Special Report: Elon’s “Hidden” Company
While many investors have been heavily focused on the artificial intelligence trade lately, the banking industry has quietly performed well, too. One commonly used proxy for the industry’s performance is the Invesco KBW Bank ETF (NASDAQ: KBWB). Over the last 12 months, the fund has delivered a total return of around 35%, topping the S&P 500’s approximately 27% return over the same period. Notably, large-scale share buybacks have been a common theme among many bank stocks. After spending aggressively on repurchases over the past several quarters, these three names are loading up again. All have massive buyback capacity equal to more than 10% of their market capitalizations. That gives these firms room to continue lowering their outstanding share counts, providing a tailwind to per-share metrics. Citigroup’s Buyback Capacity Hits 14% Amid Turnaround Success
When the SpaceX IPO launches, most retail investors will be locked out. The banks, funds, and insiders get in early - while everyone else waits on the sidelines.
But one small infrastructure supplier - a critical piece Musk can't scale the Colossus network without - is still trading well under institutional radar. A new briefing reveals the name and ticker at no cost. Get the SpaceX infrastructure stock name and ticker here
First up is one of the world’s best-known banking institutions, Citigroup (NYSE: C). The stock has been on an extremely strong run, delivering a total return of more than 70% over the last 12 months. That move reflects progress on Citi’s turnaround plan. In 2025, Citi saw record revenues across all five of its main business lines, and four out of five posted double-digit growth in Q1 2026. Overall, 2025 revenue hit a record $86.4 billion. Citi has also made judicious use of buybacks recently, spending $13 billion on repurchases in 2025—around four times what it spent in 2024. The company’s pace continues to accelerate, with $6.3 billion of repurchases in Q1 2026, or nearly half of its 2025 total in just one quarter. Now, the company has filled its buyback chest to the brim, authorizing a new $30 billion repurchase program. The firm noted, “This reflects both our earnings power and our confidence in the trajectory of our business.” The size of this program is significant, equal to 14% of Citi’s market capitalization of around $210 billion. This gives the firm substantial ability to keep reducing its share count, which it has lowered by more than 15% over the past five years. KeyCorp Announces $3B Buyback Plan as Investment Banking Shows OutKeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) shares have also performed well, though to a much lesser extent than Citi. Shares have delivered a total return of about 40% over the last year. Notably, KeyCorp's investment banking business had its second-best year ever in 2025, and the company ended the year saying its pipelines were at historically elevated levels. In Q1 2026, the company reiterated that view, saying pipelines were up 5% from year-end and that merger-and-acquisition pipelines were at record levels. The company’s buyback spending has also been higher than expected. KeyCorp spent $200 million on repurchases in Q4 2025, double what it had anticipated. In Q1 2026, KeyCorp spent nearly $400 million, well above the $300 million it had outlined. The company currently expects to spend $1.3 billion on buybacks in 2026—but specifically notes that this is a floor estimate. Pursuant to this, the company recently added $3 billion in buyback capacity. This buyback program is also very large, equal to just under 13% of KeyCorp’s market capitalization of around $23.5 billion. Notably, KeyCorp also returns a significant amount of capital through its dividend program. Overall, the company’s indicated dividend yield sits near 3.8%. M&T Makes Strong Progress on Improving Loan Quality, Spends Big on BuybacksLast up is M&T Bank (NYSE: MTB), which has delivered solid but not spectacular performance over the last 12 months, up about 20%. The stock has gained notably over the past six months as M&T has made strong progress in reducing its criticized loan balance. These are loans where the risk has increased relative to original expectations, putting the lender in an unfavorable position. Notably, M&T reduced its criticized commercial loans by 27% in 2025. Progress continued in Q1 2026, with its criticized loan balance falling by $700 million to $6.6 billion. Buybacks have also been a key part of M&T’s strategy, with the firm noting that it repurchased 9% of its outstanding shares in 2025. As part of its $5 billion buyback authorization, the company recorded $1.25 billion in repurchases during Q1 2026. That was equal to 3.5% of its outstanding shares versus the end of 2025. With this, the company now has around $3.75 billion in buyback capacity remaining. Despite already undertaking significant repurchases, its buyback firepower remains large. Overall, M&T’s capacity is equal to around 12% of its approximately $31 billion market capitalization. Trump Policies Help Big-Bank Buybacks Hit Historic LevelsNotably, elevated buyback activity isn’t confined to these three names; it is characteristic of much of the banking industry. In Q1, the largest U.S. banks hit a quarterly record for buyback spending at $33 billion. Analysts note that the Trump administration’s deregulatory stance has been a boon for buybacks, as companies must lock up less of their capital. |
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