The creation of futures contracts based around credit default swaps (CDS) has been an objective of various market participants for more than one year, but the objective has been hindered by the complexity of creating such a financial instrument.

Various banks were working on creating a futures contract derived from an index of CDS, but these efforts have stopped after the market experts responsible for creating these financial instruments found it challenging to do so within a short time frame, sources familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal.

At present, the most widely-traded CDS indices are iTraxx Europe and CDX North America Investment Grade index, which are both offered by Markit, according to MarketWatch.

CDS-based derivatives have not been popular when offered in the past, the media outlet reports. In 2011, the Chicago Board Options Exchange listed credit-default options, but these financial instruments attracted little interest from traders, the media outlet reports.

Data provided by the Bank for International Settlements indicates that the notional value of CDS surged 8 percent during the first six months of 2011 to reach $32.4 trillion, according to the media outlet. At the end of June in that year, the risk management tools accounted for 5 percent of the $700 trillion swaps market.