The top U.S. derivatives regulator gave Wall Street two months to abide by a new policy imposing Dodd-Frank Act rules on banks when they arrange trades domestically and then book them overseas.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) postponed a Nov. 14 advisory that undermined a legal interpretation Wall Street had found buried in a footnote, number 513, in an earlier agency document. Banks relied on the footnote to keep swap deals off electronic platforms and away from the agency's rules that were put in place in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.

In a letter released yesterday, the agency said that it agreed to the delay after swaps dealers said they needed “additional time” to “allow them to organize their internal policies and procedures to come into compliance.”