Global regulators' plans for a coordinated start next month to swap-collateral rules are breaking down, with countries taking different approaches to the deadline and traders in the $544 trillion industry scrambling to get ready.

The European Union plans to stick to the March 1 start date, and regulators have little power to quickly adjust laws after they go on the books, according to an EU official. In Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia, authorities granted the industry six months to phase in the requirement, eager to avoid a messy start to a key policy intended to make the market safer following the 2008 financial crisis.

In the U.S., the picture is even more complicated. The acting chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, who took over after President Donald Trump was inaugurated, said the deadline is unrealistic and wants to find a way to smooth the implementation of a rule that seeks to bolster the financial system by forcing banks, asset managers and other traders to hold more collateral to protect against risks stemming from a deal going bust.