WASHINGTON (May 21, 2012)—Gary Gensler, the chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said Monday the agency has begun an investigation into JPMorgan Chase's ill-timed bet on complex financial instruments that led to more than $2 billion in trading losses.

Gensler said the investigation is "related to credit derivatives products as traded by the chief investment office of JPMorgan Chase."

He declined to give any details.

Under the 2010 financial overhaul law, the CFTC gained powers to monitor trading in indexes of derivatives.

JPMorgan invested heavily in an index of insurance-like products that protect against default by bond issuers.

Hedge funds bet that the index would lose value, forcing JPMorgan to sell investments at a loss.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating JPMorgan's disclosures to shareholders about the trading loss.