Commodity Trading Futures Commission, the leading derivatives regulator in the US, was said to be within reach of a compromise. The compromise would be on how the regulator's rules applied to foreign corporations dealing with banks in the US. The information came from a person with knowledge of the negotiations who told Reuters directly.

Friday was the last day for CFTC to make a decision regarding the matter. The day was set because an extensive temporary relief for the foreign corporations was about to expire.

The lack of rules was expected to cause regulatory turmoil. It would also invoke the anger of the already critical politicians.

The issue divided the commission. Chairman Gary Gensler vied against Commissioner Mark Wetjen. Wetjen was Gensler's fellow Democrat who wanted the agency to depend more on foreign regulators. However, a source said that the two were now close to get a deal finalized.

"It looks very positive, there's agreement in principle on most of the major issues," the source stated. "To (Gensler's) credit and to Mark's credit they were able to get in a room together over several days and we all knocked this out,"