JPMorgan gets Fed OK to buy back stock again

NEW YORK (AP) — JPMorgan Chase (JPM) says it has won approval from the Federal Reserve to start buying back its own stock.

The bank suspended the plan in May, after it revealed a surprise trading loss that grew to more than $6 billion.

The bank says in a regulatory filing that the Fed gave the OK earlier this week. The plan calls for JPMorgan to buy back $3 billion of its stock in the first three months next year.

Buybacks are popular with stockholders because they increase a company's earnings per share for the shares that are still held by the public. Companies also use buybacks to offset shares of stock they award to employees.

JPMorgan was among the best-performing bank stocks Thursday, rising more than 1%.