The Federal Reserve is examining the role that Wall Street firms including Goldman Sachs played in helping Greece arrange credit default swaps, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Thursday.

We are looking into a number of questions related to Goldman Sachs and other companies in their derivatives arrangements with Greece, Bernanke said in response to a question for Senate banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd.

Bernanke said the Securities and Exchange Commission was also interested in the issue and added: Obviously, using these instruments in a way that potentially destabilizes a company or a country is counterproductive.

(Reporting by Glenn Somerville; Editing by Theodore d'Afflisio)

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