Earlier this summer, we noted the explosion of business fines during Mike Bloomberg’s tenure as mayor, which now amount to $850 million a year.

But it turns out the city’s just a piker compared to the federal government. Look at what’s happening to JP Morgan Chase:

* The Federal Housing Finance Agency — which oversees mortgage guarantors Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — is suing the bank for $6 billion based on claims of mishandling mortgage securities.

* In addition, various federal agencies, including the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission, are seeking penalties that could add up to $600 million. These are related to the investigations into the so-called London “whale” trades that cost the company $6 billion.

* At the same time, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are preparing to impose $80 million in fines on JP Morgan Chase for misleading customers over identity-theft prevention products.

JP Morgan Chase is by no means alone. The other top five banks are facing similar actions from the feds. The legal costs of defending themselves is estimated at more than $100 billion, which is more than the combined profits of all six for 2012.

Lord knows the banks bear their share of blame for the mess that led up to the financial collapse. And we’re all for holding banks accountable for their actions.

But all these multimillion-dollar actions from all these federal agencies raise a question: Is this really about safeguarding financial markets? It’s hard to see how our banks emerge stronger when all their profits go to enriching the plaintiff’s bar and paying off the federal government.