JPMorgan Chase is considering cutting an $11 billion check to make a big chunk of its mortgage woes go away.
The nation’s biggest bank is talking with state and federal regulators about a wide-ranging settlement over its sale of troubled mortgage securities during the financial crisis.
The potential pact includes $7 billion in cash and $4 billion in relief for debtholders, WSJ.com reported.
A JPMorgan spokesman declined to comment, but a person familiar with the bank’s thinking said its goal with this settlement is to clear away most of its mortgage liability in one fell swoop.
The sizable sum would resolve multiple mortgage-related probes and lawsuits involving the New York State attorney general’s office and the Department of Justice, among others.
During the tense negotiations, regulators have threatened to haul the bank into court unless it writes a big enough check.
JPMorgan officials have groused that regulators are trying to force its hand by negotiating through the media and have vowed to fight any unreasonable fine in court, according to sources.
The bank got saddled with roughly 70 percent of the mortgage securities covered by the potential settlement when it agreed to acquire failing Washington Mutual and Bear Stearns — at the urging of government regulators.
The $11 billion deal would be nearly double the $6 billion the bank lost on the “London Whale” scandal. Last week, JPMorgan agreed to pay $920 million to settle probes into that trading fiasco.
For the most part, shareholders shrugged off the potential hit to the bank’s wallet.
The stock closed up 2.7 percent at $51.70 on Wednesday