EU: Goldman Sachs says credit swap probe on pause

Goldman Sachs said in its quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it believes the European Commission has “suspended indefinitely” its investigation into the credit default swaps market.

Reports say the bank believes at least part of the two-part case has been placed on pause after the case was opened in April 2011. One part of the investigation involves claims of market dominance abuse in the CDS information sector by 16 banks and index publisher Markit. The other part of the case involves allegations against nine banks and ICE Clear Europe that accuse the companies of colluding to keep rivals out of the CDS market.

The Commission has not yet issued any statement of objections in the case, however; now, reports say Goldman Sachs believes the part of the case involving collusion to keep out rivals from the market has been dropped.

The Commission said last month that this part of the case was put “on hold” to focus on allegations of abuse of dominance.

Full content: International Financing Review

Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.