Net income per common share

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Earnings Per Share

Net Income (Loss) Per Common Share

Note 26 – Net income per common shareThe following table sets forth the computation of net income per common share (“EPS”), basic and diluted, for the quarters ended March 31, 2020 and 2019:

		Quarters ended March 31,
(In thousands, except per share information)		2020		2019
Net income	$	34,302	$	167,925
Preferred stock dividends		(670)		(931)
Net income applicable to common stock	$	33,632	$	166,994
Average common shares outstanding		90,788,557		98,581,743
Average potential dilutive common shares		104,404		177,155
Average common shares outstanding - assuming dilution		90,892,961		98,758,898
Basic EPS	$	0.37	$	1.69
Diluted EPS	$	0.37	$	1.69

As disclosed in Note 18, on January 30, 2020, the Corporation entered into an accelerated share repurchase transaction (“ASR”) of $500 million with respect to its common stock, and, in connection therewith, received an initial delivery of 7,055,919 shares of common stock. The initial share delivery was accounted for as a treasury stock transaction. As a result of the recent decrease in the trading price of the Corporation’s common stock during the COVID-19 pandemic, on March 19, 2020, the dealer counterparty to the ASR exercised its right to terminate the ASR as a result of the trading price of the Corporation’s common stock falling below a specified level. The Termination Agreement executed in connection with such termination provides for the acceleration of the final settlement of the ASR, which was originally expected to occur during the fourth quarter of 2020. Under the settlement resulting from the Termination Agreement of the ASR due to the decrease in share price resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Corporation will receive a further number of shares of common stock, equivalent to approximately $167 million. As of March 31, 2020, the Corporation had received 642,400 additional shares after the early termination of the ASR. The diluted EPS computation for the quarter ended March 31, 2020 excludes 4,228,622 to be received under the ASR since their effect would be antidilutive.

For the quarters ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, 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, 2019. For a discussion of the calculation under the treasury stock method, refer to Note 33 of the Consolidated Financial Statements included in the 2019 Form 10-K.