Net income (loss) per common share

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2017

Earnings Per Share

Net Income (Loss) Per Common Share

Note 26 – Net income per common share

The following table sets forth the computation of net income per common share (“EPS”), basic and diluted, for the quarters ended March 31,2017and 2016:

		Quarters ended March 31,
(In thousands, except per share information)		2017		2016
Net income	$	92,945	$	84,999
Preferred stock dividends		(931)		(931)
Net income applicable to common stock	$	92,014	$	84,068
Average common shares outstanding		102,932,989		103,188,815
Average potential dilutive common shares		180,906		80,998
Average common shares outstanding - assuming dilution		103,113,895		103,269,813
Basic EPS	$	0.89	$	0.81
Diluted EPS	$	0.89	$	0.81

As disclosed in Note 18, during the quarter ended March 31, 2017, the Corporation completed a $75 millionprivately negotiated accelerated share repurchase transaction. As part of this transaction, the Corporation entered into a forward contract in which the final number of shares delivered at settlement was based on the average daily volume weighted average price (“VWAP”) of its common stock during the term of the ASR, net of a discount. Based on the discounted VWAP of $40.60, the Corporation received 1,847,372 sharesof its outstanding common stock.

For the quarter ended March 31,2017, the Corporation calculated the impact of potential dilutive common shares under the treasury stock method, consistent with the method used for the preparation of the financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2016. For a discussion of the calculation under the treasury stock method, refer to Note 35 of the Consolidated Financial Statements included in the 2016 Form 10-K.

For the quarters ended March 31,2017 and 2016, there were no stock options outstanding.