“Don’t fight the Fed.

“For the past few years, capital markets have lived by the golden rule of not pushing against the easy-money policies of the U.S. central bank. Following last Tuesday’s mortgage settlement between J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and the Justice Department, banks should abide by a slightly amended version of that maxim: Don’t fight the Feds.

“That, to use banker-speak, is the “main take-away” from the $13 billion penalty paid by the largest U.S. lender by assets to settle civil claims brought by several federal and state authorities. When the government comes after a corporation armed with evidence provided by a whistleblower, as the Justice Department did with J.P. Morgan, and the determination to claim a big victory, the room for negotiation is limited.

“That much is clear. Many other aspects of this record-breaking settlement between a U.S. company and the government, however, remain murky.”

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Read full Wall Street Journal article here