By Colin Kellaher

Bank of America Corp. on Tuesday said its board authorized the repurchase of $2.9 billion in common stock during the first quarter.

The Charlotte, N.C., bank said it also plans to buy back an additional $300 million in stock during the quarter to offset shares awarded under its equity-based compensation plans.

Bank of America said the buyback authorization equals the maximum allowed for the quarter under guidelines established by the Federal Reserve following the latest round of stress tests.

The Fed in December said it found that the largest U.S. banks remain strong enough to survive the coronavirus crisis and said it would allow them banks to resume stock buybacks at a restricted rate in the first quarter.

Bank of America, which has roughly 8.65 billion shares outstanding, sports a market capitalization of about $285.6 billion based on Friday's closing price of $33.01.

Write to Colin Kellaher at colin.kellaher@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

01-19-21 0650ET