JPMorgan Chase agrees $264m settlement in China bribery case

US investment bank JPMorgan Chase is set to fork out $264m to settle a bribery probe based on its China operations, after it was found to have given jobs to family members of officials in the country to gain business.

The US Department of Justice has been investigating the practice along with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

JPMorgan will pay $130m to the SEC, as well as $72m to the Justice Department and $61.9m to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.

The bank made the argument during the case that the practice of hiring well-connected employees was common in China, but the government regulators concluded that those hired were explicitly linked to the securing of deals with companies run by the Chinese government.

The Sons and Daughters program was set up by the bank led by Jamie Dimon in a formlised effort to win business from strategic hiring. It is expected to accept the conclusions of the findings.

The ruling represents one of the last attempts by Barack Obama's administration to crack down on Wall Street malpractice, in which a number of big-dollar settlements were made but no criminal prosecutions brought.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon had been courted by Donald Trump's transition team for the Republican's entrance to the White House in January, reportedly being offered the position of treasury secretary.

However, Fortune magazine said on Thursday that Dimon was uninterested in the offer.