Tag Archives: JPMorgan Chase

The five banks that took part in the national mortgage settlement are getting close to completing their consumer relief obligations a year after the landmark deal was reached. So far, the five banks--Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and Ally Financial--have provided $50.63 billion in consumer relief to over 621,700 borrowers, according to an update from the settlement monitor Joseph A. Smith, Jr. The provided relief comes out to about $81,437 per borrower.

Wells Fargo reported record net income of $5.2 billion for Q1 2013, up from $5.1 billion quarter-over-quarter and from $4.2 billion year-over-year. Tim Sloan, CFO at Wells Fargo, credited the record results to a rise in average loans and deposits, a drop in expenses, and improvement in credit metrics. However, origination volume dropped at the nation’s biggest mortgage lender. JPMorgan also posted strong performance across its businesses, recording a net income of $6.5 billion (compared with $4.9 billion in the first quarter of 2012).

Citing ""strong underlying performance across virtually all [its] businesses,"" JPMorgan Chase reported record profits for its third straight year. According to its quarterly filing, JPMorgan took in $5.7 billion in net income during 2012's final quarter, up 53 percent from the same quarter in 2011. For all of 2012, the bank reported a record $21.3 billion. Much of that profit came on the bank of JPMorgan's strengthened mortgage business.

It's been months since New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman filed suit against JPMorgan Chase over faulty mortgage-backed securities (MBS), but the bank is now coming out of its own corner swinging. Attorneys for the bank filed a motion to dismiss in early January, arguing that because Schneiderman brought his claims under the Martin Act (an article granting New York's attorney general increased power to combat financial fraud), they are subject to a three-year statute of limitations that has already elapsed.

The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) filed its 10th action against a major Wall Street investment firm--this time, the defendant is JPMorgan Securities. NCUA's suit, which was filed in Federal District Court in Kansas, revolves around mortgage-backed securities (MBS) underwritten and sold by Washington Mutual Bank (WaMu), which was acquired by JPMorgan in 2008 following its collapse.

JPMorgan Chase promoted Kevin Watters as CEO of mortgage banking. Watters has been with Chase and its predecessor firms for 13 years. Before becoming CEO of mortgage banking, Watters led mortgage originations and customer experience across mortgage banking, a position he held since 2010.

In a regulatory filing released Thursday, JPMorgan Chase revealed it has reached a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to resolve claims against itself and Bear Stearns, which it acquired in 2008. According to the filing, JPMorgan ""has reached an agreement in principle with the staff of the SEC to resolve"" claims under investigation by the regulatory agency. The agreement is subject to SEC and court approval.

A U.S. district judge squashed an attempt by JPMorgan Chase to fully dismiss a lawsuit from the Federal Housing Finance Agency over alleged fraud over mortgage-backed securities. In its motion to dismiss, JPMorgan argues that FHFA's complaint does not contain enough factual support that loans were not underwritten properly. Judge Denise Cote disagreed, saying the allegations ""amply support FHFA's assertion that the Offering Documents for the Securitizations contained false statements regarding originators' compliance with underwriting standards.""

The country's largest life insurance provider announced it is selling its mortgage servicing portfolio to one of the country's biggest mortgage servicers. MetLife, Inc., announced an agreement to sell MetLife Bank, N.A.'s mortgage servicing portfolio to JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but MetLife revealed in a statement the portfolio is worth approximately $70 billion. As a result of the purchase, Chase's $1.1 trillion servicing business is expected to grow by more than 5 percent.

Rep. Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts) is stepping up and speaking out in defense of JPMorgan Chase, calling the U.S. government's lawsuit against the financial institution a case of ""no good deed goes unpunished."" New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman filed a suit against JPMorgan on October 1 for the alleged misconduct of Bear Stearns & Co. prior to JPMorgan's acquisition of the failing investment bank, and Frank says he has first-hand knowledge that federal officials urged JPMorgan to ""do a good deed"" by taking over an institution which JPMorgan would never have sought to acquire absent that urging.