WASHINGTON (Dow Jones/AP) – MBNA Corp., one of the world’s largest credit-card lenders, Thursday posted a 9 percent rise in fourth-quarter profit and raised its quarterly dividend by 2 cents, or 17 percent.

MBNA, a major employer in Maine, also said it would take a hefty charge in the first quarter for voluntary early retirement and severance programs and expects to consolidate parts of its operation after a review of operations.

MBNA also said in the Securities and Exchange Commission filing it plans to buy back up to $2 billion of its stock over the next two years. The stock-repurchase plan, which will increase earnings per share by reducing shares outstanding, will be based on capital levels, asset growth levels and share performance, MBNA said.