Wells Fargo raises dividend

NEW YORK Wells Fargo (WFC) is raising its quarterly dividend to 30 cents, from 25 cents.

The nation's biggest U.S. mortgage lender, based in San Francisco, said Tuesday that its next dividend is payable June 1 to shareholders of record on May 10.

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"The dividend increase approved by our board today is up 36 percent from a year ago and reflects the confidence we have in our company's performance," said John Stumpf CEO of Wells Fargo. "We remain committed to returning more capital to our shareholders."

The Federal Reserve said in March that Wells Fargo had passed its annual checkup, a "stress test" to measure how a bank would fare in a severe recession. The Fed cleared the bank to raise its quarterly dividend to 30 cents per share.