Banks settle Enron charges

Two of America’s largest banks, JP Morgan Chase and Citigroup, have agreed to pay nearly $300m (€260m) to settle charges that they helped collapsed energy giant Enron manipulate its financial statements and mislead investors.

The payments settle charges by the government that the banks helped Enron, which filed for bankruptcy in 2001, mislead investors by creating complex financial transactions designed to beef up reported cashflow and hide debt.