JPMorgan to pay $400m to settle mortgage bond claims

The nation's biggest bank is hauling out the checkbook yet again

JPMorgan Chase is hauling out the checkbook yet again. The nation’s largest bank will pay $400 million to settle claims against it by bond insurer Syncora Guarantee Inc. over faulty mortgage-backed securities.

Syncora had brought several lawsuits against JPMorgan to recover losses on securities sold by Bear Stearns, according to Reuters. JPMorgan acquired Bear Stearns in 2008.

Syncora maintained that Bear Stearns misrepresented the quality of the mortgages underlying the securities and that it had been deceived into insuring them, Reuters reported.

This is just the latest in a long line of payouts JPMorgan has had to make. In November, the lending giant agreed to pay $13bn to settle federal claims over mortgage-backed securities. The same month, the bank agreed to fork over $4.5bn to settle mortgage-bond claims by a group of investors.