With the exception of a few delays instituted within the past week, the deadline put in place by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for swaps traders to comply with new regulations has come, and the transition is well underway. As of today, almost all swaps trades are being handled through Swap Execution Facilities, or SEFs. And, according to The Financial Times, some SEFs have already begun announcing their first transactions ahead of schedule, with Javelin Capital Markets having opened its doors to pair buyers with sellers on Tuesday, a full day before the deadline.

The CFTC mandated that all swaps trading must be done through SEFs in order to add more transparency to the swaps market, which is often considered to be a major factor in the cause of the 2008 financial crisis.

While all swaps trades will have to go through SEFs eventually, the CFTC recently granted a one month delay to foreign exchange swaps and a two month delay in equity swaps, after members of the industry complained that they needed more time.

Interestingly, while the transition to a more streamlined and transparent market place is going rather smoothly, operations within the CFTC will be quite hectic, thanks to the government shutdown that began on Tuesday.  According to the Wall Street Journal, the CFTC is currently running with a mere 28 of its over 600 employees. However, while many of its normal practices will undoubtedly be put on hold, the CFTC will still be monitoring the market place for any suspicious trading.