Michel Barnier, the European Union’s Internal Market and Services commissioner, yesterday warned traders to prepare themselves for “strong regulation on derivatives”, in a consultation document aimed at tackling a corner of the market where issues of transparency and risk continue to top the regulatory agenda.

Barnier, who replaced Charlie McCreevy in January this year, said the aim of the consultation was to "get the fine tuning of our proposals right" as well as seek "input on how procedures can best work".