The European Commission on Wednesday proposed two pieces of legislation aimed at limiting risky trading in financial markets, part of its effort to improve regulation in the wake of the financial crisis.

One proposal would require most derivatives trades to be routed through centralised clearing houses, which are entities that ensure companies can cover their losses if their trades go awry. The other would force investors to disclose more information about the bets they make against companies or the debt of governments, with European regulators given the power to ban these trades temporarily in a period of market turmoil.