JP Morgan Chase is to pay $20m to settle claims that it mishandled customer funds from Lehman Brothers, the bank whose collapse heralded the start of the financial crisis that began in 2008.

The fine is the first for a Wall Street firm related to the collapse of Lehman, the largest bankruptcy in US history. JP Morgan was a major lender to Lehman and has been under scrutiny since Lehman's dramatic collapse on 15 September 2008. Lehman's creditors have accused JP Morgan of siphoning off billions from the fallen bank in the days before it declared bankruptcy.

In other charges, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said JP Morgan "improperly" held onto funds belonging to Lehman's clients after the bank went bust.