The CME, the world’s largest futures exchange, is losing ground to the InterContinental Exchange , its arch-rival in the battle to clear trades in the $28,000bn credit default swap market.

Both exchanges have been given approval by US regulators to begin clearing CDS contracts, and by the end of last week the ICE had already cleared more than $7bn-worth of trades. But the CME – which has developed its initiative in partnership with Citadel, the hedge fund – is waiting to begin operations as it continues to look for both customers and financial institutions that will agree to take equity in the new venture.