JPMorgan Chase is pulling out its checkbook to help mend frayed relationships with the government.
But its new and conciliatory approach — a departure for the bank and its leader, Jamie Dimon, who generally has taken a hard line with the authorities — is yielding mixed results. Government officials, stung by the bank’s past displays of hubris, may drive up the price of settlements or resist the overtures altogether.
The hefty payouts started on Tuesday when JPMorgan struck a $410 million settlement with the nation’s top energy regulator, which had accused the bank of devising “manipulative schemes” to transform “money-losing power plants into powerful profit centers.” The agreement was a record fine for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, whose most recent settlement with a big bank totaled only $1.6 million.
JPMorgan is bracing for an even larger penalty stemming from shoddy mortgage securities it sold to the government. In a sign that JPMorgan is struggling to placate some authorities, people briefed on the matter said, a housing regulator recently rejected an offer the bank made to settle those claims.
While JPMorgan is likely to fight some cases, the bank is quietly courting officials from the Securities and Exchange Commission, which is investigating the bank’s multibillion-dollar trading loss in London last year, the people say. It is unclear whether the S.E.C. investigators are receptive to JPMorgan’s advances.
The bank’s new approach comes down, at least in part, to dollars and cents. While the settlements are expensive, they pale in comparison to the sort of legal bills that come with long — and embarrassing — legal battles.