“For more than 15 years, there were signs something was amiss with what federal prosecutors in Manhattan call the ‘703 account’ at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

“Money was being transferred back and forth for no reason. The account holder was recording double-digit returns on investments that were too good to be true. The bank itself was worried enough about possible fraud to withdraw its own investments from him.

“The name on the account was Bernard Madoff and on Tuesday, JPMorgan paid a steep price for keeping quiet about its suspicions.”

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“The more than $2.5 billion that JPMorgan is paying comes from a company that reported $21.3 billion in net income for 2012. JPMorgan already has set aside $23 billion this year to cover settlement and litigation costs — including the $13 billion.

“The settlement of criminal charges ‘is good, but still inadequate to stop what can only be called a one-bank crime spree,’ said Dennis Kelleher, president of Better Markets, a group that advocates strict financial regulation.”

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