European companies look set for a victory in their efforts to persuade regulators not to force them to use clearing houses for over-the-counter derivatives trades after the European Commission proposed that they be given exemptions from rules to clamp down on such markets.

The move, contained in a draft regulation, comes after months of lobbying by industrial companies such as Siemens, Eon and Rolls-Royce. They said forcing them to process their OTC derivatives trades through clearing houses would cause a drain on cash, hurting European economic growth.

Brussels is weeks away from finalising its version of the Dodd-Frank US legislation passed in June clamping down on the OTC derivatives markets, parts of which were blamed for worsening the financial crisis.