The plan outlined 10 days ago by US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to reform the US over-the-counter derivatives market may have been long overdue but it has highlighted the deep-seated enmity that exists between OTC brokers and the world’s largest futures exchanges.

Geithner's proposal to move OTC derivatives to central counterparties surprised no one after the political and regulatory overtures in the US in relation to credit default swaps since the collapse of Lehman Brothers and insurance giant AIG last year.