The Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday granted a key exemption allowing New York Stock Exchange parent NYSE Euronext to clear credit default swaps in the US, though has yet to approve two rival offerings.

The approval is a first step toward providing greater oversight to the $54 trillion (€38.6 trillion) market, which has operated unregulated while its growth has exploded over the past decade. Congress is expected to take up the issue next year as it sorts out a broader review of financial-market oversight.