BUSINESS BRIEFING / SETTLEMENTS
Times Wire Reports
JPMorgan Chase & Co. has agreed to a settlement worth more than $700 million over federal regulators’ charges that it made unlawful payments to friends of public officials to win municipal bond business in Jefferson County, Ala.
The scandal over the county’s $3.9-billion debt has pushed it to the brink of filing what would be the biggest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. The Securities and Exchange Commission announced the settlement with JPMorgan, which canceled interest-rate swap contracts with the county worth $700 million in March.
