Chase Pays $228 Million To Settle Bond Rigging Allegations

JP Morgan Chase today agreed to pay $228 million to settle allegations that it had rigged almost 100 municipal bond auctions between 1997 and 2005. WSJ reports one of the big claims in the case was that the bank got the guys handling auctions to give them a “last look” at all of the bids, so that JP Morgan could win all of the auctions.

The bank said in a statement that it doesn’t “tolerate anticompetitive activity or violations of law.” They also said the case involved “a small desk that was discontinued and on certain employees who are no longer with the firm” and that these employees hid what they were doing from their bosses.

Last year Bank of America paid $137 million to settle allegations that it created a system of sockpuppets and kickbacks to steer certain municipal bond business their way. In May, UBS pay $160.2 million related to a probe over municipal bond bid-rigging.

J.P. Morgan Settles Bid-Rig Case [WSJ]

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