J.P. Morgan to Settle Copper Case

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., the second-largest U.S. bank, agreed to pay Sumitomo Corp. $125million to settle more than $2 billion in claims related to copper trades the Tokyo company said were unauthorized.

The settlement was the last stemming from lawsuits that Japan’s fourth-largest trading company filed in the U.S. after losing $2.6 billion in 1996 from transactions by its chief copper trader, Yasuo Hamanaka, Sumitomo attorney Alan Levine said.

Sumitomo accused J.P. Morgan of providing capital to Hamanaka even though it was aware he was trading without Sumitomo’s consent. In May 2000, Merrill Lynch & Co. agreed to pay Sumitomo $275million in a similar case.

Sumitomo’s shares fell 2.7% in Tokyo. J.P. Morgan shares dropped 4 cents to $35.61 on the NYSE.