EU: Markit and ISDA Seek to settle antitrust probe

Markit Group and the International Swaps & Derivatives Association offered to settle a European Union antitrust investigation into their role in the credit-default swaps industry with pledges to change licensing arrangements.

The European Commission is seeking feedback on commitments from Markit, a financial information provider, and ISDA, a derivatives industry group, it said in an e-mailed statement. If accepted, the offer would allow regulators to end a five-year probe without levying any fines or making any ruling on whether there was a breach of EU law.

Banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. were droppedfrom the probe last year after the EU said it lacked evidence they conspired to shut exchanges out of the CDS market. The EU pressed on with the case against Markit and ISDA over concerns that not licensing certain inputs for exchange trading may have hindered it emerging as a rival to the banks that dominate over-the-counter CDS trading.

Markit is now promising to license rights in the iTraxx and CDX indexes on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms for the exchange-traded financial products based on them. It will also try to prevent banks influencing individual licensing decisions by reducing their participation in its advisory committees and any discussion on licensing requests.

Full Content: Bloomberg

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