The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission may delay some Dodd-Frank Act overseas swaps rules for about six months, part of a wave of last-minute exemptions and postponements to ease transition to new regulations.

The derivatives regulator may put off compliance for overseas-based operations of banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. for some risk-management rules that begin to take effect at the end of the month, according to two people who asked not to be identified because the delay hasn't been made public. The agency has already released more than 40 no-action letters postponing other Dodd-Frank rules, and officials have signaled that more are coming.

"We have and will continue to grant requests for phased compliance," CFTC chairman Gary Gensler said in a telephone interview yesterday. The delays are designed to "smooth the transition" to new oversight rules, he said.