JPMorgan Chase reaches $2B settlement over foreclosure abuses

The nation’s largest bank, JPMorgan Chase, has agreed to pay borrowers some $2 billion in mortgage relief and direct cash payments in order to settle foreclosure abuse claims with regulators, the Wall Street Journal reported. The settlement calls for some $753 million in cash payments and $1.2 billion for “foreclosure prevention actions.” The bank has said that it will book a $700 million pre-tax charge in the fourth quarter of 2012 to account for the cost of the settlement, which it will report on January 16. JPMorgan was one of 10 banks slapped with fines Monday, following a regulatory probe into abusive foreclosure practices in the aftermath of the financial and housing crisis. [more]