JPMorgan settles for $55M U.S. in race suit

Nation’s top bank confronts two separate bias allegations

The Obama administration took two last-minute swipes at JPMorgan Chase & Co., accusing the lender in separate lawsuits of discriminating against minorities in home lending and against its own female employees by paying them less than their male counterparts.

The nation’s biggest bank has confronted claims of bias since at least 2009. In one of the cases filed Wednesday, the government said the lender’s practices cost at least 53,000 black and Hispanic borrowers tens of millions of dollars between 2006 and 2009.

In the other, the U.S. said JPMorgan paid at least 93 women less than men in the same position.

The bank disputed both sets of claims and pledged to fight the gender lawsuit, while agreeing to pay $55 million (U.S.) to settle the race case, according to a person familiar with the matter. JPMorgan said in a statement it’s committed to diversity in the workplace. After being honoured by two groups for its efforts at inclusion, chief executive officer Jamie Dimon remarked in April that a diverse workplace “is not only the smart thing to do — it’s the right thing to do.”

In the mortgage case, the U.S. government said a black borrower with the same credit and risk profile as a white borrower paid higher loan rates and larger fees for the same type of Chase wholesale mortgages. Hispanic borrowers allegedly received similar treatment.

The government says mortgage brokers had wide discretion in adjusting fees and rates. The government did a regression analysis to determine how much more minorities paid, the government said, explaining that was necessary because the bank didn’t keep data.

Black borrowers paid an average of 0.12 per cent higher rates on loans, while Hispanics paid 0.06 per cent more. Black borrowers were charged an average $1,126 in higher fees, while Hispanics were charged an average of $968 more, the complaint said.

“We deny any wrongdoing and remain committed to providing equal access to credit,” the bank said in a statement.

Separately, the Labor Department claimed the bank “systematically discriminated” against 93 female technology workers in its investment bank by paying them lower wages since at least 2012.