April 23 (Reuters) - The Commodity Futures Trading

Commission (CFTC) has reached out to a number of banks,

including JPMorgan Chase ( JPM ), Bank of America ( BAC ) and

Citigroup ( C/PN ) to see if they have been preventing would-be

whistleblowers from speaking out, Bloomberg News reported 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.

CFTC, JPMorgan ( JPM ), Citigroup ( C/PN ) did not immediately respond to

Reuters requests for comment, while 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 ( JPM ) agreed to pay a $18 million civil

penalty to settle charges it violated whistleblower protection

rules, the U.S. SEC said.

A top enforcer of criminal malfeasance on Wall Street,

Damian Williams has also encouraged whistleblowers to come

forward and report wrongdoing under a new program aimed at

uncovering illegal activity.