JPMorgan Chase to pay Investors $4.5bn over securities

JPMorgan Chase & Co will pay 4.5 billion dollars to settle claims by 21 institutional investors over mortgage-backed securities issued from 2005 to 2008, the largest US bank announced Friday. The agreement must still be approved by trustees overseeing the 330 mortgage bond trusts, which incurred costs from bad loans bundled into the bonds. The settlement covers bonds sold by both JPMorgan and Bear Stearns Cos, which the New York-based bank bought in 2008. In a statement, JPMorgan called the settlement "another important step" in the bank's efforts to resolve disputes over resid ntial mortgage-backed securities. JPMorgan agreed in October to pay 5.1 billion dollars to settle claims of misleading federally backed mortgage companies about the risk associated with other bonds it sold.