Within a space of two weeks, a pair of the most powerful American financial companies upped their shareholder payouts. These weren't token raises, either, with the more-modest raiser of the two hiking its dividend by almost 10%.

There's nothing like getting passively richer from one of our investments. Here's a closer look at the latest dividend raises from finance sector powerhouses JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) and American Express (NYSE: AXP).

JPMorgan Chase, one of the so-called big four U.S. banks, is a bedrock of the U.S. economy. It's a bedrock for some income investors, too, with a habit of dividend raises stretching back nearly 15 years and an above-average yield on its payout.

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Source Fool.com