Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Shareholders' Equity

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Shareholders' Equity
 3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2021
Equity [Abstract]  
Shareholders' Equity Shareholders’ Equity
Common Stock
Declared Quarterly Cash Dividends on Common Stock (1)
Declaration Date Record Date Payment Date Dividend Per Share
April 22, 2021 June 4, 2021 June 25, 2021 $ 0.18 
January 19, 2021 March 5, 2021 March 26, 2021 $ 0.18 
(1)In 2021, and through April 29, 2021.
During the three months ended March 31, 2021, the Corporation repurchased and retired 101 million shares of common stock, which reduced shareholders’ equity by $3.5 billion.
During the three months ended March 31, 2021, in connection with employee stock plans, the Corporation issued 63 million shares of its common stock and, to satisfy tax withholding obligations, repurchased 24 million shares of its common stock. At March 31, 2021, the Corporation had reserved 451 million unissued shares of common stock for future issuances under employee stock plans, convertible notes and preferred stock.
On April 22, 2021, the Board of Directors declared a quarterly common stock dividend at the current rate of $0.18 per share.
Preferred Stock
During the three months ended March 31, 2021, the Corporation declared $490 million of cash dividends on
preferred stock. On January 28, 2021, the Corporation issued approximately 37,000 shares of 4.125% Non-Cumulative Preferred Stock, Series PP for $915 million, with quarterly dividends commencing in May 2021. The Series PP preferred stock has a liquidation preference of 25,000 per share and is subject to certain restrictions in the event the Corporation fails to declare and pay full dividends.
During the three months ended March 31, 2021, the Corporation fully redeemed Series CC and Series T preferred stock for a total of $1.1 billion. Additionally, on April 25, 2021, the Corporation fully redeemed Series EE preferred stock for $900 million. For more information on the Corporation's preferred stock, including liquidation preference, dividend requirements and redemption period, see Note 13 – Shareholders’ Equity to the Consolidated Financial Statements of the Corporation’s 2020 Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Restricted Stock Units
During the three months ended March 31, 2021, the Corporation granted 98 million restricted stock unit (RSU) awards to certain employees under the Bank of America Key Employee Equity Plan. Other than an insignificant amount that are settled in cash, the RSUs will be settled in shares of common stock of the Corporation. Eighteen million of the RSU awards will vest over three years, and the remainder will generally vest over four years, provided that the employee remains continuously employed with the Corporation during that time. The RSUs will be expensed ratably over the life of the awards, net of estimated forfeitures, based on the grant-date fair value of the shares, except for awards that contain a retirement-eligibility provision and were issued to retirement-eligible employees, as these awards are generally expensed in the year preceding the grant date. Certain RSU awards granted during the three months ended March 31, 2021 were subsequently modified to include a retirement-eligibility provision, resulting in additional compensation and benefits expense of $269 million during the three months ended March 31, 2021. For more information, see Note 18 – Stock-based Compensation Plans to the Consolidated Financial Statements of the Corporation’s 2020 Annual Report on Form 10-K.