Fifth Third Bancorp is paying $280 million to buy back warrants issued to the U.S. government, The Wall Street Journal reports. The move will provide the Cincinnati-based lender the right to buy 43.6 million shares of common stock, valued at $11.72 per share.

In February 2011, the bank received $3.4 billion in government aid from the program. The bank sold the warrants to the Treasury as a condition of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) in 2008, adds Reuters.

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