JPMorgan Chase Announces Resolution to Lawsuit with Military Families

NEW YORK, JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) and U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Jonathon Rowles announced today that they have agreed to resolve a class action lawsuit over financial protections due military customers under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). This settlement follows the recent announcement of several new Chase programs to help military and veteran customers.

Under the terms of the class action settlement, which is pending court approval, Chase will make $27 million in benefits available to Chase’s military customers. The firm will pay $12 million to the class and set aside $15 million for additional damages on a case-by-case basis as determined by a Special Master. Any remaining funds will be used to benefit military members, veterans and their families. To date, Chase has issued $6 million in payments to borrowers who were overcharged. Chase will also provide an estimated $6.4 million in additional benefits to borrowers who may have been subjected to wrongful foreclosure practices.

“We are sorry and regret the mistakes our firm made on mortgages for members of the military, and we’d like to thank Capt. and Mrs. Rowles for helping us address them,” said Frank Bisignano, Chief Administrative Officer of JPMorgan Chase who was appointed head of Chase Home Lending in February. “We hold ourselves accountable and responsible for these mistakes, and fixing them is just the beginning of a new way forward with the military and veteran community as we make serving them a core part of how we operate our business every day. JPMorgan Chase has a proud history of honoring the military and veterans and we want to move forward from this experience to be an outstanding partner to the military across all of our businesses.”

“My family and I thank Chase for resolving this matter,” said Capt. Rowles. “It is our hope that this settlement will result in greater attention by the entire financial services industry to the nation’s laws that protect our military families. We also hope others follow Chase’s lead in creating additional programs for job creation, home ownership, and other financial assistance for veterans and members of the military. I look forward to working with Chase on these initiatives as an advisor to its Veteran’s Advisory Council.”

On February 15, 2011, Chase announced a series of programs to help military and veterans. Those programs include:

Reduced Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) Pricing - Chase will lower eligible borrowers’ effective mortgage interest rate to 4% while on active duty and for a year thereafter.

Military Modification Program - An enhanced modification program for all members of the military who have served on active duty as far back as 9/11/01.

Home Ownership Assistance -

Chase will not foreclose on any currently deployed military personnel.
Chase believes we now have the systems and controls in place to avoid wrongful foreclosure proceedings on any military covered by SCRA. In cases where we have mistakenly foreclosed on military borrowers who should have been covered by SCRA, in addition to rescinding the sale, we will forgive all their remaining mortgage debt. Going forward, if we ever have a wrongful foreclosure sale on an SCRA covered customer, we will forgive all of their remaining mortgage debt, as well.
Chase will donate 1,000 homes to servicemembers and veterans over the next five years through our non-profit partners.
By the end of 2011, Chase will open six new Chase Homeownership Centers in cities near the large military bases.
Chase will staff all of its Homeownership Centers with employees specifically trained in SCRA, military issues and Chase special military programs.

Jobs

On March 9, 2011, JPMorgan Chase launched the “100,000 Jobs Mission” with 10 other corporate partners. Collectively, these partners pledge to hire 100,000 transitioning military members and veterans by the end of 2020.

Education and Training

In close partnership, JPMorgan Chase and Syracuse University will offer a tuition free technology certificate through Syracuse University exclusively for veterans to prepare them for technology careers. The program is available to all military members who have served on active duty going back to 9/11/01.

For more information on the firm’s current programs available to military and veterans, visit www.chasemilitary.com.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $2.1 trillion and operations in more than 60 countries. The firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers, small business and commercial banking, financial transaction processing, asset management and private equity. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, JPMorgan Chase & Co. serves millions of consumers in the United States and many of the world’s most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients under its J.P. Morgan and Chase brands. Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.