As brokers rush to meet the requirements of a regulatory crackdown that will shift most of the $494 trillion market for interest rate swaps onto electronic trading platforms, three big European interdealer brokers – Icap, Tradition and Tullett Prebon – are battling it out to establish a firm base of liquidity. They want to make a mark before the much-delayed rulemakings in the US come into force, expected in February.

In the battle for supremacy, first-mover advantage could prove crucial. The regulation forcing the change in Europe is the markets in financial instruments regulation, or Mifir, which will see over-the-counter derivatives shifted onto multi-dealer "organised trading facilities", but is unlikely to be implemented before 2015. In the US, the Dodd-Frank Act has similar aims.