JPMorgan agrees to pay $55m in discrimination case

Investment bank JPMorgan Chase has agreed to settle a racial discrimination case with a $55m payment, after it was alleged to have charged black and Hispanic mortgage customers more in the United States.

An attorney in the US filed the charges against the US's biggest bank on Wednesday, in which it claimed that 53,000 African American and Hispanic mortgage seekers were charged more, bringing the bank in violation of the Fair Housing Act.

Until 2009, the Wall Street firm used a network of brokers who were allowed to adjust prices based on a variety of factors unrelated to risk, and the case says that the brokers were not sufficiently monitored by the company.

"Even when Chase had reason to know there were disparities, however, Chase did not act to determine the full scope of these wholesale pricing disparitie," attorney Preet Bharara said in the complaint.

"Nor did it take prompt and effective action to eliminate those disparities, nor did it engage in adequate efforts to remedy the impact of those disparities upon the borrowers," it added.

JPMorgan, despite settling the case, has denied any wrongdoing.

"We've agreed to settle these legacy allegations that relate to pricing set by independent brokers," said the bank. "We deny any wrongdoing and remain committed to providing equal access to credit."