European Union banks are a step closer to avoiding billions of dollars of capital charges on their trades in derivatives and other securities after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted final rules for clearing firms.

SEC commissioners voted Wednesday to adopt standards that will apply to firms including the Options Clearing Corp. (OCC) and Depository Trust and Clearing Corp. (DTCC). Once the stiffer measures are in place, the SEC and the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, could accelerate talks on the equivalence of their regulations.

EU law requires sharp increases in capital requirements on banks' trades settled at clearinghouses based in countries whose oversight and rules haven't been deemed as robust as those in the bloc. Barring an equivalence decision or a delay, the tougher requirements would kick in on Dec. 15.