JP Morgan agreed to pay $153.6 million to settle charges that it scammed its customers into buying complex and tainted securities package just before the collapse of the housing market. The investment bank will pay the settlement amount to the Securities and Exchange Commission who will ensure that harmed investors get their money back. According to the Associated Press, the investment bank has "also agreed to improve the way it reviews and approves mortgage securities transactions."

JP Morgan is one of the nation's five largest mortgage lenders expected to pay settlements for crimes committed in the run up to the financial crisis. While it's unclear whether or not the firm will face further charges, the $153.6 million figure announced on Tuesday is significantly lower than the reported $20 billion the banks are preparing themselves to pay. Meanwhile, JP Morgan's CEO Jamie Dimon received praise recently for criticizing the government's over-regulation of financial markets in the wake of the crisis. Responding to Dimon, former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich warned how lack of regulation could repeat history. "JPMorgan Chase and the other giant banks on Wall Street are bigger than they were before," Reich said. "And now they're certain they're too big to fail. Without far stricter regulation they have every incentive to repeat their binge.

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Adam Clark Estes