jpmorgan chase & co . / 2008 annual report 85 of $ 1.0 billion and is also required to notify the securities and exchange commission ( 201csec 201d ) in the event that tentative net capital is less than $ 5.0 billion in accordance with the market and credit risk standards of appendix e of the net capital rule . as of december 31 , 2008 , jpmorgan securities had tentative net capital in excess of the minimum and the notification requirements . on october 1 , 2008 , j.p . morgan securities inc . merged with and into bear , stearns & co . inc. , and the surviving entity changed its name to j.p . morgan securities inc . j.p . morgan clearing corp. , a subsidiary of jpmorgan securities provides clearing and settlement services . at december 31 , 2008 , j.p . morgan clearing corp . 2019s net capital , as defined by the net capital rule , of $ 4.7 billion exceeded the minimum requirement by $ 3.3 billion . dividends on february 23 , 2009 , the board of directors reduced the firm's quar- terly common stock dividend from $ 0.38 to $ 0.05 per share , effective for the dividend payable april 30 , 2009 , to shareholders of record on april 6 , 2009 . jpmorgan chase declared quarterly cash dividends on its common stock in the amount of $ 0.38 for each quarter of 2008 and the second , third and fourth quarters of 2007 , and $ 0.34 per share for the first quarter of 2007 and for each quarter of 2006 . the firm 2019s common stock dividend policy reflects jpmorgan chase 2019s earnings outlook , desired dividend payout ratios , need to maintain an adequate capital level and alternative investment opportunities . the firm 2019s ability to pay dividends is subject to restrictions . for information regarding such restrictions , see page 84 and note 24 and note 29 on pages 205 2013206 and 211 , respectively , of this annual report and for additional information regarding the reduction of the dividend , see page 44 . the following table shows the common dividend payout ratio based upon reported net income . common dividend payout ratio .
what is the minimum capital requirement as defined by the net capital rule in millions
issuance the firm issued $ 6.0 billion and $ 1.8 billion of noncumulative per- petual preferred stock on april 23 , 2008 , and august 21 , 2008 , respectively . pursuant to the capital purchase program , on october 28 , 2008 , the firm issued to the u.s . treasury $ 25.0 billion of cumu- lative preferred stock and a warrant to purchase up to 88401697 shares of the firm 2019s common stock . for additional information regarding preferred stock , see note 24 on pages 205 2013206 of this annual report . on september 30 , 2008 , the firm issued $ 11.5 billion , or 284 million shares , of common stock at $ 40.50 per share . for additional infor- mation regarding common stock , see note 25 on pages 206 2013207 of this annual report . stock repurchases during the year ended december 31 , 2008 , the firm did not repur- chase any shares of its common stock . during 2007 , under the respective stock repurchase programs then in effect , the firm repur- chased 168 million shares for $ 8.2 billion at an average price per share of $ 48.60 . the board of directors approved in april 2007 , a stock repurchase program that authorizes the repurchase of up to $ 10.0 billion of the firm 2019s common shares , which superseded an $ 8.0 billion stock repur- chase program approved in 2006 . the $ 10.0 billion authorization includes shares to be repurchased to offset issuances under the firm 2019s employee stock-based plans . the actual number of shares that may be repurchased is subject to various factors , including market conditions ; legal considerations affecting the amount and timing of repurchase activity ; the firm 2019s capital position ( taking into account goodwill and intangibles ) ; internal capital generation ; and alternative potential investment opportunities . the repurchase program does not include specific price targets or timetables ; may be executed through open market purchases or privately negotiated transactions , or utiliz- ing rule 10b5-1 programs ; and may be suspended at any time . a rule 10b5-1 repurchase plan allows the firm to repurchase shares during periods when it would not otherwise be repurchasing com- mon stock 2013 for example , during internal trading 201cblack-out peri- ods . 201d all purchases under a rule 10b5-1 plan must be made accord- ing to a predefined plan that is established when the firm is not aware of material nonpublic information . as of december 31 , 2008 , $ 6.2 billion of authorized repurchase capacity remained under the current stock repurchase program . for a discussion of restrictions on stock repurchases , see capital purchase program on page 84 and note 24 on pages 205 2013206 of this annual report . for additional information regarding repurchases of the firm 2019s equity securities , see part ii , item 5 , market for registrant 2019s common equity , related stockholder matters and issuer purchases of equity securities , on page 17 of jpmorgan chase 2019s 2008 form 10-k. .