JPMorgan to pay $800M to settle Lehman brokerage claims

JPMorgan Chase & Co. will settle claims against it brought by Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.'s brokerage by returning $800 million in cash and securities, according to court papers. The defunct brokerage, Lehman Brothers Inc., will distribute the money to customers, according to a filing yesterday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan. JPMorgan was the main clearing bank for the Lehman brokerage, processing billions of dollars of transactions and lending tens of billions of dollars daily to LBI, according to the filing. While some of the loans were secured by securities in the brokerage's accounts, the bank didn't have a valid lien on some customer property, which now is being returned, it said. “The agreement will have no material financial impact on JPMorgan,” the bank said in an e-mailed statement. Most of the assets were set aside to await a resolution of claims by the trustee who is liquidating the remnants of Lehman's brokerage, it said. Separately, JPMorgan, the second-biggest U.S. bank, is trying to get an $8.6 billion lawsuit by the Lehman parent dismissed. --Bloomberg News--