JPMorgan to Pay $264M to Resolve Hiring Allegations: SEC

JPMorgan Chase & Co. has agreed to pay $264 million to resolve allegations that it hired the relatives of Chinese officials in order to win banking deals, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said in a statement on Thursday.

Authorities said JPMorgan’s Asia unit created an elaborate program that allowed clients and influential government officials to recommend potential hires.

Those recommended hires could bypass JPMorgan’s normal hiring program, receiving preferential treatment, the SEC said.

JPMorgan will pay the SEC $130 million. The bank would also pay the Justice Department $72 million and $61.9 million to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, the SEC said.

A JPMorgan spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Joel Schectman; Editing by Bernadette Baum)