Cuomo, Schneiderman agree on dividing portion of JPMorgan funds: NYT

[January 21, 2014]  (Reuters) — New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Eric Schneiderman, the state's attorney general, have reached an agreement on how to divide a portion of the $613 million that the state received as part of a settlement with JPMorgan, the New York Times reported.

The New York Times earlier reported a deteriorating relationship between Schneiderman and Cuomo, and noted a battle over the $613 million New York received as part of JPMorgan's $13 billion settlement with U.S. authorities over mortgage-backed securities.

The deal would now split $163 million of the funds in equal measure, with half being distributed by Schneiderman's office to programs that prevent avoidable foreclosure or help prevent future financial fraud, and the rest going to the state's general fund to be spent on housing-related programs, the newspaper said.

However, both Cuomo and Schneiderman have not reached an agreement on who will allocate the remaining $450 million, the paper said. (http://link.reuters.com/nus26v)

Reuters could not immediately reach the NY Governor's office as well as the attorney general's office for comment outside of regular U.S. business hours.

(Reporting by Sakthi Prasad in Bangalore; editing by Supriya Kurane)

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