(Reuters) – The head of the U.S. Justice Department’s antitrust division, Makan Delrahim, is paying close attention to the data that securities exchanges sell to banks and investment companies, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday.
Market participants have long complained that the prices they pay to acquire the data are too steep, the report said.
One area of potential concern is whether the exchanges are using market power to hurt competition, for example, by forcing investors to buy other products or services in addition to the data feeds, Delrahim told the news outlet in an interview.
He is also considering revamping the United States’ view on bank mergers, according to the report.
The Department of Justice could not be immediately reached for comment on the report.
(Reporting by Abhishek Manikandan in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)