“JPMorgan Chase reported a 7.3 percent slump in fourth-quarter earnings on Tuesday, as billions of dollars in legal costs from a series of government settlements continued to weigh on profit at the nation’s largest bank.

“The net earnings of $5.28 billion, or $1.30 a share, fell slightly below Wall Street analysts’ expectations of $1.35 a share.

“The results underscored how expensive it has been for the bank to obtain peace with Washington. All told, JPMorgan has paid roughly $20 billion over the last 12 months to resolve government investigations.

“The fourth-quarter results included a charge of 27 cents a share in legal costs. Excluding those items, the bank reported profit of $1.40 a share on net revenue of $24.1 billion, exceeding analysts’ expectations of $1.35 a share on net revenue of $23.67 billion.”

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