April 23 (Reuters) – The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has reached out to a number of banks, including JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N), opens new tab, Bank of America (BAC.N), opens new tab and Citigroup (C.N), opens new tab to see if they have been preventing would-be whistleblowers from speaking out, Bloomberg News reported, opens new tab on Wednesday.
CFTC is asking banks for non-disclosure agreements in their swaps and clearing businesses, and has also sought employment and customer agreements in those businesses, the report added, citing people familiar with the matter.
JPMorgan and Citigroup did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment, while CFTC and BofA declined to comment.
The top financial regulator joins the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which has increased its oversight in this area and has levied fines against companies that don’t comply.
In January, JPMorgan agreed to pay a $18 million civil penalty to settle charges it violated whistleblower protection rules, the U.S. SEC said.
Source: REUTER
