JPMorgan Chase has reportedly reached a tentative deal with the Justice Department to pay $13 billion to settle claims over its sale of flawed mortgage-backed securities that were at the core of the financial crisis. The settlement includes $9 billion in fines and $4 billion in relief for suffering homeowners. The total represents more than half of JPMorgan’s profits last year and would be the largest any single company has ever paid in a settlement with the Justice Department. The deal resulted from close talks between JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon and Attorney General Eric Holder. After negotiations over the summer failed to produce a deal, the Justice Department was set to unveil civil charges against the bank at a news conference in late September. But unnamed sources said Dimon called a top Holder aide just four hours before the announcement, requesting a meeting. Dimon and Holder spoke by phone five times over the past two weeks. The deal they reached Friday does not end the prospect of criminal charges for the bank.
2013