Retirees are among the main holders of the $3.5 trillion market in bond mutual funds. But most retirees likely don’t know that a secretive group of banks and major investment firms controls the $15 trillion market for credit insurance that could impact their life savings.

The companies, including JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and thirteen others collectively manage the International Swaps & Derivatives Association (ISDA), according to Bloomberg. The ISDA makes the rules regarding credit default swaps (CDS), the risky financial instrument that was at the heart of the 2008 financial crisis.

Since the crisis, many Wall Street critics have noted that CDS remain vulnerable to collusion and fraud, yet no new regulations have been established to protect investors. Instead, the ISDA continues to make its own rules on CDS, even though the banks and investment firms that make the rules will also take profits or losses, depending on the outcomes of their decisions.

Despite the obvious conflicts, an ISDA spokesman maintained that the governing body’s process is transparent and open to regulatory review. In fact, ISDA records are not made public, and despite making over 1,000 rulings over the past six years, the panel has not made public any records of its discussions.

Last year, ISDA was faced with a decision about a potential default of $532 million from Argentina that would create a huge windfall for one of its members, who had been fighting Argentina over payments for years. The ISDA panel unanimously voted to denote the country’s debt was in default.

None of the companies that have representation on the ISDA panel would agree to comment for the Bloomberg story.