JPMorgan and SEC in settlement talks on CDO deal: report

CHICAGO (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co <JPM.N> is in settlement talks with the SEC to end a probe into how the investment bank marketed a deal involving subprime mortgages in 2007, according to the Financial Times.

A settlement between JPMorgan and the Securities and Exchange Commission could be reached within weeks, the paper said.

The SEC declined to comment on the report, while representatives of JPMorgan could not be reached for comment.

The 2007 deal, called "Squared," was a collateralized debt obligation, or CDO. CDOs are complex financial instruments that have been blamed for worsening the global financial crisis in 2008.

The SEC investigation centered around whether JPMorgan adequately disclosed to investors that a hedge fund, Magnetar, helped to select assets for the deal while betting against parts of it.

(Reporting by Nick Carey; editing by Mohammad Zargham)