Commission Chairman Gary Gensler and his fellow commissioners said that the CFTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission have set Jan. 25 for the unveiling of their definitions for a "swap," "swaps dealers," "major swap participant" and "eligible contract participant," all key terms that will determine who and what activities are covered by the rule.

Federal oversight of the previously largely unregulated and opaque swaps market is one of the biggest changes brought about by the Dodd-Frank Act, but it has been on hold until regulators could define exactly which swaps transactions have to be reported, which transactions are covered by different reporting and margin requirements, and who meets the criteria for a broker-dealer.

Establishing the definitions could kick off a fierce battle before oversight actually takes effect. With a proposal unlikely to be available for comment before Jan. 25, SEC and CFTC votes on final definitions wouldn't come until summer.

While the CFTC has a number of Dodd-Frank Act-related rules to finish, Gensler and several commissioners said Wednesday the CFTC also expects to adopt some non-Dodd-Frank rule changes related to segregation of customer and company funds, a need highlighted by the collapse of MF Global Holdings Ltd.

Commissioner Bart Chilton called MF Global "a slap in the face, a wake-up call for us all [that] hit the very heart of who we are as regulators and who we are as an industry. It's now a constant sort of clanging bell for me that we have to see what we need to do in order to ensure that customer funds are taken care of first and foremost before anything else," he said.

On Wednesday the CFTC proposed on a divided 3-2 party-line vote the same Volcker Rule restrictions proposed in October by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Federal Reserve, the SEC and the Comptroller of the Currency. The SEC, the FDIC and the Fed will regulate most potential bank Volcker Rule conflicts, but the CFTC regulates any bank units that act as swaps dealers or Futures Commission merchants.

The CFTC's delay in joining other agencies in October had prompted speculation that the agency would implement the rule in a different fashion. Gensler said Wednesday that he delayed a commission vote simply because of the number of other rules the commission was considering.

The CFTC on Wednesday also adopted rules setting minimum standards in business conduct for swaps dealers and participants that manage risk, including rules impacting the management of pension plans.

The final version of that rule significantly eased the CFTC's original rules.