JPMorgan Chase will pay $75m and forfeit claims on nearly $650m in termination fees to settle US allegations the bank and two former employees paid the friends of political officials to win municipal financing business in Alabama.

Civil charges filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission allege that JPMorgan managing directors Charles LeCroy and Douglas MacFaddin made more than $8m in payments to friends of officials in Jefferson County, Alabama, to help the bank gain an underwriter assignment on a $1.4bn county bond.