Shareholders' equity

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2019

Stockholders' Equity Note [Abstract]

Shareholders' equity

Shareholders’ equity

All of Chubb’s Common Shares are authorized under Swiss corporate law. Though the par value of Common Shares is stated in Swiss francs, Chubb 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 Chubb in U.S. dollars. At June 30, 2019, our Common Shares had a par value of CHF 24.15 per share.

At our May 2018 and 2017 annual general meetings, our shareholders approved an annual dividend for the following year of up to $2.92 per share and $2.84 per share, respectively, which were paid in four quarterly installments of $0.73 per share and $0.71 per share, respectively, at dates determined by the Board of Directors (Board) after the annual general meetings by way of a distribution from capital contribution reserves, transferred to free reserves for payment.

At our May 2019 annual general meeting, our shareholders approved an annual dividend for the following year of up to $3.00 per share, expected to be paid in four quarterly installments of $0.75 per share after the general meeting by way of distribution from capital contribution reserves, transferred to free reserves for payment. The Board will determine the record and payment dates at which the annual dividend may be paid until the date of the 2020 annual general meeting, and is authorized to abstain from distributing a dividend at its discretion.

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

	Three Months Ended						Six Months Ended
	June 30						June 30
	2019			2018			2019			2018
	CHF	USD		CHF	USD		CHF	USD		CHF	USD
Total dividend distributions per common share	0.75	$	0.75	0.73	$	0.73	1.47	$	1.48	1.39	$	1.44

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 June 30, 2019, 23,706,045 Common Shares remain in treasury after net shares redeemed under employee share-based compensation plans.

Chubb Limited securities repurchase authorization

In December 2017, the Board authorized a share repurchase program of $1.0 billion of Chubb's Common Shares from January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018. In December 2018, our Board authorized the repurchase of up to $1.5 billion of Chubb's Common Shares from December 1, 2018 through December 31, 2019.

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

	Three Months Ended June 30				Six Months Ended June 30				July 1, 2019 through July 30, 2019
(in millions of U.S. dollars, except share data)	2019		2018		2019		2018
Number of shares repurchased	2,584,466		2,443,855		5,338,220		2,443,855		730,417
Cost of shares repurchased	$	376	$	324	$	743	$	324	$	110
Repurchase authorization remaining at end of period	$	736	$	676	$	736	$	676	$	626