Boston-based Santander Holdings USA has gotten back its independence to pay dividends and make capital distributions without first seeking approval from federal regulators.

The bank announced yesterday that the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System has authorized the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston to terminate a 2014 agreement with the company, requiring Santander to obtain approval from regulators before taking such actions.

“This is an important achievement and the second significant regulatory milestone we have accomplished in recent weeks, which underscores the key improvements we’ve made to strengthen our capital position, risk management and governance,” Scott Powell, Santander U.S. CEO, said in a statement. “I am so proud of the work our team has done to reach these important goals, which have made the company stronger and position Santander U.S. for a solid future.”

Three years ago, regulators slapped Santander Holdings USA and certain subsidiaries with restrictions after the bank declared a cash dividend on common stock in the second quarter of 2014, which was not specifically authorized in advance by the Federal Reserve.

The announcement of the dividend in 2014 also came after Santander failed the Federal Reserve’s stress test. The bank, a unit of Spain’s Banco Santander SA, would go on to fail stress tests required as part of Dodd-Frank in the next two years as well.

But in 2017, the tides started to turn.

Santander Holdings USA passed the stress test and the Federal Reserve did not object to the company’s 2017 capital plan and planned capital distributions, submitted as part of the stress test.

“Today’s news means we are now moving into a normal capital approval cycle, like most large banks in the U.S,” Powell said. “While there is still more work to do to fully address our outstanding regulatory issues, we believe these announcements represent a turning point for us.”