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JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. agreed to pay a civil penalty of $250 million for engaging in unsafe and unsound business practices related to internal controls and internal audit of fiduciary duties.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) imposed the penalty against the New York-based investment bank and financial services holding company, which manages $29.1 trillion assets, one of the largest worldwide.

JPMorgan Chase is offering clients a wide range of investment strategies through various investment vehicles. Given the huge amount of assets under management, its fiduciary duties are complex.

According to the OCC, JPMorgan Chase maintained a “weak management and control framework for its fiduciary activities” for several years. Its “risk management practices were deficient” and it does not have a sufficient framework to prevent conflicts of interests.

The federal regulator also found that the bank maintained inadequate “internal controls over its fiduciary activities and an insufficient audit program.

JPMorgan Chase agreed to settle with the OCC in the “interest of cooperation and to avoid additional costs associated with administrative and judicial proceedings” in connection to its alleged violations.

The bank settled without admitting or denying the OCC findings. It also implemented measures to remediate its alleged deficiencies.

In a statement, a spokesman for the bank said, “We are committed to delivering best-in-class controls across our business, and we have invested significantly in and enhanced our controls platform over the last several years to address the issues identified.

In September, JP Morgan Chase and its subsidiaries agreed to pay a total of $920 million to resolve charges that its traders practiced spoofing to manipulate the precious metals and Treasury securities markets.

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