The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) postponed voting on the definition of a swap dealer on February 21.

The government agency was planning on holding the vote during a meeting scheduled for February 23, according to Reuters. The CFTC was planning on defining which firms would count as a "swap dealer" or a "major swap participant."

New rules need to be created so that the regulations contained in the Dodd-Frank Act can be implemented effectively, The Financial Times reports. If the legal foundation is put in place, it is hoped that the Dodd-Frank Act will lower counterparty risk for investors and provide more information to regulators.

The CFTC stated that it was not responsible for the delay, placing the blame on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), according to Reuters.

"The SEC pulled it for a variety of reasons. I think there is still some questions among the commissioners," a CFTC official told the media outlet. "It wasn't a dispute between us and them so it's a 'them' issue. They let us know this weekend."

A draft of the proposed CFTC regulation would have defined swaps dealers as organizations that trade more than $2 billion of the risk-management tools, The Financial Times reports.