The Chicago Board of Trade in the US could see its hopes of launching swap-based futures contracts stymied, because it does not own the mathematical calculations needed to make the contracts effective, according to derivatives specialists.

The CBOT said last week that it would be launching a set of interest rate swap futures contracts, including five- and 10-year contracts based on US Treasury swaps. The idea behind the contract is to give traders cheap and easy exposure to the highly liquid swaps market.