The chief executive of London-based interdealer broker Icap has said the delay in implementing new rules governing electronic swap trading is holding back volumes on the firm’s new electronic swap platform, as the deadline for compliance with e-trading requirements from US derivatives legislation is delayed until 2013.

Michael Spencer, Icap group chief executive, expressed frustration at regulators' delay in implementing rulings under the US Dodd-Frank Act, which will force the bulk of the $550 trillion interest rate swap market onto electronic trading platforms. At present, the vast majority of that market is traded over the phone, with major dealing banks reluctant to migrate business to new platforms unless forced to.