JPMorgan Chase & Co. will pay a record $13 billion to resolve U.S. Justice Department probes into the bank’s sale of mortgage bonds that officials said helped feed the financial chaos of 2008, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The accord settles allegations that JPMorgan, the biggest U.S. lender by assets, misled investors and the public when it sold bonds backed by faulty residential mortgages, according to the Justice Department. U.S. and state officials blamed the bank’s actions in the statement for helping to cause the credit crisis, and said the settlement doesn’t shield JPMorgan or its employees from criminal charges. Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan’s chief executive officer, said that the settlement resolves a significant portion of claims tied to mortgage-backed securities issued by the lender and two firms it bought during the credit crisis, Bear Stearns Cos. and Washington Mutual Inc.’s bank unit. The sum is covered by reserves, and JPMorgan is cooperating with the Justice Department’s criminal case, the bank said.
