U.S. probe eyes JPMorgan MBS, not Bear or WaMu bonds: source

U.S. prosecutors investigating JPMorgan Chase & Co for allegedly violating securities laws are looking at mortgage bonds created by the bank itself, and not by companies it bought, according to a source familiar with the matter.

JPMorgan disclosed on Wednesday that it is a subject of "parallel investigations" by criminal and civil divisions of the U.S. Attorney's office for the Eastern District of California, which includes the state capital and Central Valley region.

JPMorgan bought Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual during the financial crisis in 2008. Both those firms had also created mortgage bonds that contributed to the housing bubble and have since been subjects of lawsuits as well. But the current criminal probe focuses on bonds that JPMorgan created, the source said.

(Reporting by David Henry in New York; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick)