Shareholders' equity

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2015

Stockholders' Equity Note [Abstract]

Shareholders' equity

Shareholders’ equity

All of ACE’s Common Shares are authorized under Swiss corporate law. Though the par value of Common Shares is stated in Swiss francs, ACE continues to use U.S. dollars as its reporting currency for preparing consolidated financial statements. Under Swiss corporate law, dividends, including distributions through a reduction in par value (par value reduction) or from legal reserves, must be stated in Swiss francs though dividend payments are made by ACE in U.S. dollars.

At our May 2013 annual general meeting, our shareholders approved an annual dividend for the following year of $2.04 per share, payable in four quarterly installments of $0.51 per share after the annual general meeting in the form of a distribution by way of a par value reduction. At the January 10, 2014 extraordinary general meeting, our shareholders approved a resolution to increase our quarterly dividend from $0.51 per share to $0.63 per share for the final two quarterly installments (made on January 31, 2014 and April 17, 2014) that had been earlier approved at our 2013 annual general meeting. The $0.12 per share increase for each installment was distributed from capital contribution reserves (Additional paid-in capital), a subaccount of legal reserves, and transferred to free reserves (Retained earnings) for payment, while the existing $0.51 per share was distributed by way of a par value reduction.

At our May 2014 annual general meeting, our shareholders approved an annual dividend for the following year of $2.60 per share, payable in four quarterly installments of $0.65 per share after the annual general meeting in the form of a distribution by way of a par value reduction.

At our May 2015 annual general meeting, our shareholders approved an annual dividend for the following year of up to $2.68 per share, expected to be paid in four quarterly installments of $0.67 per share after the annual general meeting by way of a distribution from capital contribution reserves, transferred to free reserves for payment. The Board of Directors (Board) will determine the record and payment dates at which the annual dividend may be paid, and is authorized to abstain from distributing a dividend in its discretion, until the date of the 2016 annual general meeting. The first two quarterly installments, each of $0.67 per share, have been distributed by the Board as expected.

The following table presents dividend distributions per Common Share in Swiss francs (CHF) and U.S. dollars (USD):

	Three Months Ended						Nine Months Ended
	September 30						September 30
	2015			2014			2015			2014
	CHF	USD		CHF	USD		CHF	USD		CHF	USD
Dividends – par value reduction	—	$		0.61	$	0.65	0.62	$	0.65	1.64	$	1.81
Dividends – distributed from capital contribution reserves	0.65	0.67		—	—		1.27	1.34		0.20	0.24
Total dividend distributions per common share	0.65	$	0.67	0.61	$	0.65	1.89	$	1.99	1.84	$	2.05

Par value reductions have been reflected as such through Common Shares in the consolidated statements of shareholders' equity and had the effect of reducing par value per Common Share to CHF 24.15 at September 30, 2015.

Common Shares in treasury are used principally for issuance upon the exercise of employee stock options, grants of restricted stock, and purchases under the Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP). At September 30, 2015, 18,770,044 Common Shares remain in treasury after net shares redeemed under employee share-based compensation plans.

ACE Limited securities repurchase authorization

In November 2014, the Board announced authorization of a share repurchase program of $1.5 billion of ACE's Common Shares for the period January 1, 2015 through December 31, 2015 to replace the November 2013 authorization when it expired on December 31, 2014.

In November 2013, the Board announced authorization of a share repurchase program of up to $2.0 billion of ACE's Common Shares through December 31, 2014.

The following table presents repurchases of ACE's Common Shares conducted in a series of open market transactions under the Board authorizations:

(in millions of U.S. dollars, except share data)	Three Months Ended September 30				Nine Months Ended September 30
	2015		2014		2015		2014
Number of shares repurchased	—		4,349,302		6,677,663		10,143,184
Cost of shares repurchased	$	—	$	450	$	734	$	1,019
Repurchase authorization remaining at end of period	$	766	$	924	$	766	$	924