BRUSSELS, July 1 (Reuters) - European Union regulatorscharged financial data company Markit, the International Swapsand Derivatives Association (ISDA) and 13 banks on Monday withblocking rival exchanges in the credit derivatives business inbreach of EU antitrust rules.
The European Commission said it had sent a statement ofobjections, or charge sheet, which sets out suspectedanti-competitive activities, to the companies.
"The Commission takes the preliminary view that the banksacted collectively to shut out exchanges from the market becausethey feared that exchange trading would have reduced theirrevenues from acting as intermediaries in the OTC market," theEU competition authority said.
The charges followed a two-year investigation. The bankscharged are Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays, Bear Stearns, BNP Paribas, Citigroup,Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JP Morgan, RBS, UBS. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Adrian Croft)