Justice Dept. Probes CDS Market: Report

The U.S. Justice Department is investigating the market for credit-default swaps, Bloomberg reports, citing Markit Group, the London-based data provider that is majority-owned by Wall Street's largest banks.

"Markit has been informed of an investigation by the Department of Justice into the credit-derivatives and related markets," spokeswoman Teresa Chick said Monday in an e-mail to Bloomberg.

The spokeswoman declined to comment on the nature of the investigation. "We will work with the Department to provide any information requested of us," Chick said.

The Justice department's antitrust division sent civil investigative notices this month to banks that own Markit to determine if they have unfair access to price information, according to three people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reports. U.S. lawmakers plan to regulate the over-the-counter derivatives market, which includes credit-default swaps blamed for helping make worse the recent financial crisis.

Justice Department spokesmen couldn't immediately be reached for comment, Bloomberg reports.

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