While many investors have been focusing on artificial intelligence trading lately, the banking industry has quietly done well as well. One widely used proxy for sector performance is the Invesco KBW Bank ETF NASDAQ: KBWB. Over the past 12 months, the fund has delivered a total return of nearly 35%, outperforming the S&P 500's roughly 27% return over that period.
Notably, large share buybacks have been a common theme among many bank stocks. After engaging in a big spending spree a few months back, these three names are loading up again. All of them have significant purchasing power equal to more than 10% of their market capitalization. This allows these companies to further reduce their outstanding equity figures, adding consistency to the per share metrics.
Citigroup's Buyback Capacity Hits 14% Amid Turnaround Success
First is one of the most famous banking institutions in the world, Citigroup NYSE: C. The stock has had a very strong run, delivering a total return of more than 70% over the past 12 months. This comes as Citi's turnaround plan is well underway. In 2025, Citi saw record revenues in all five of its business lines, and four of the five posted double-digit growth in Q1 2026. Overall, 2025 revenues reached a record $86.4 billion.
Citigroup Today
Citigroup
From 03:58 PM East
- 52 week interval
- $73.49
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$135.29
- Dividend Yield
- 1.89%
- The P/E ratio
- 15.71
- Target Value
- $137.62
Citi has also been aggressive with buybacks recently, spending $13 billion on repurchases in 2025—four times what it spent in 2024. The company's pace of repurchases continues to increase, as it repurchases $6.3 billion in Q1 2026, or about half of its one quarter in 2025.
Now, the company has filled its buyback chest, authorizing a new $30 billion buyback program. The company commented, “This reflects our revenue strength and our confidence in the trajectory of our business.” The size of this program is very important, it is equal to 14% of Citi's market capitalization near 210 billion dollars.
This gives the company a significant ability to continue to reduce its share count, which it has reduced by 15% over the past five years.
KeyCorp Announces $3B Recapitalization Plan as Investment Bank Shows Exit
KeyCorp NYSE: KEY The stock also did well, but much less than Citi. Shares have delivered a total return of about 40% over the past year. Notably, KeyCorp's investment banking business had its second best year ever in 2025, and ended the year saying its pipeline was at historically high levels. In Q1 2026, the company repeated this, saying that pipelines were up 5% from the end of the year and that pipelines including acquisitions were at record levels.
KeyCorp today
From 03:58 PM East
- 52 week interval
- $15.44
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$23.34
- Dividend Yield
- 3.76%
- The P/E ratio
- 13.36
- Target Value
- $42.78
The company's capital expenditure was also higher than expected. KeyCorp spent $200 million on repurchases in Q4 2025, double what it expected.
In Q1 2026, KeyCorp spent about $400 million, more than the $300 million it had budgeted for. The company currently says it expects to spend $1.3 billion on repurchases by 2026—but it specifically notes that this is a low estimate.
Following this, the company recently raised $3 billion. This buyback plan is huge, equal to less than 13% of KeyCorp's market capitalization of around $23.5 billion.
Notably, KeyCorp also returns a large amount of money through its dividend plan. Overall, an annual yield of 3.8 %.
IM&T Makes Strong Progress in Improving Loan Quality, Spends Big on Buybacks
Last but not least is M&T Bank NYSE: MTBwhich has delivered a positive but negative performance over the past 12 months, up around 20%. Big gains have been made in the past six months, as M&T has made solid progress in reducing its bad loan balance. These are loans where the risk has increased compared to initial expectations, putting the lender at a disadvantage.
IM&T Bank today
From 03:58 PM East
- 52 week interval
- $174.76
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$239.00
- Dividend Yield
- 2.78%
- The P/E ratio
- 12.08
- Target Value
- $235.32
Notably, M&T has reduced its bad commercial debt by 27% by 2025. Progress continued in Q1 2026, with its non-performing loan balance falling by $700 billion to $6.6 billion.
Acquisitions have also been an important part of M&T's strategy, with the company noting that it has repurchased 9% of its remaining shares by 2025. As part of its $5 billion repurchase authorization, the company recorded $1.25 billion in repurchases during Q1 2026. This was equivalent to 3.5% of its outstanding 202 shares now outstanding. has approximately $3.75 billion in outstanding acquisition pipeline.
Despite the fact that it is already repurchasing big time, its buyback firepower remains huge. Overall, M&T's market capitalization is roughly 12% of its $31 billion market capitalization.
Trump's Policies Help Big Bank Buyouts Reach Historic Levels
Significantly, the high shopping activity is not limited to these three words; It is especially prominent in the banking industry. In Q1, major US banks reached a record quarterly purchase of $33 billion. Analysts note that the Trump administration's rollbacks have been a boon to capital formation as companies have to close their cash flow.
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