JPMorgan Chase’s talks with the Justice Department over a multi-billion-dollar mortgage settlement have hit a bump in the road, The Post has learned.
CEO Jamie Dimon has become vexed that Attorney General Eric Holder and his regulators won’t guarantee that in return for paying at least $11 billion, that federal and state regulators won’t come back for more, sources said.
This stand-off has delayed the deal, which was expected to be inked this week.
The $11 billion deal would be the biggest settlement by a single company.
So far, Holder refuses to give that guarantee.
At the same time, the banking giant continues to balk at the government’s push for an admission of wrongdoing, which has been a major sticking point in the talks from the start as it would open the bank to more liability.
Last week, Dimon flew to Washington to meet with Holder and his team to hash out a deal with the DOJ and a host of other agencies, including the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the New York Attorney General’s office.
A wide-ranging deal would end one of the biggest legal headaches for JPMorgan, although there are still ongoing federal probes into the bank’s debt-collection practices, among other issues.
While Dimon was hoping to announce a broad mortgage deal this week, the best-case scenario is next week at the earliest — assuming a deal is reached at all.
The talks, as they are reaching into the highest levels of government, are sensitive and could fall apart completely.
If the two sides cannot hash out a deal, then it is likely the DOJ will file a civil lawsuit against the New York banking giant.
JPMorgan, the nation’s biggest bank, was saddled with about 70 percent of the dubious mortgage debt when it agreed to acquire faltering Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual during the financial crisis at the prompting of government regulators.