JPMorgan Chase & Co., the largest bank in the U.S., has tentatively agreed to pay $13 billion to settle Department of Justice allegations that it had sold bad home mortgages to investors in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis.
It would be the government's highest-profile enforcement action related to the financial meltdown, if the deal is approved.
Still, the government is not getting a lot of love for what could be a record settlement. Defenders of the bank say the settlement is unfair, given JPMorgan’s role before its purchase of Washington Mutual and Bear Stearns in the mortgage finance mess was relatively minor. And other critics of the deal say the government hasn’t gone far enough to hold individual bankers accountable for the financial meltdown.
Guests:
Chris Kotowski, senior analyst at Oppenheimer Equity Research
Julia Gordon, Director of Finance Policy at the Center for American Progress