LONDON (Reuters) - The first set of European Union rules to avoid further attempts by banks and brokers to rig currency markets and interest rate benchmarks were approved on Thursday.

The European Parliament endorsed a law to formally supervise market benchmarks, like the London Interbank Offered Rate or Libor, which several banks were fined billions of dollars for trying to manipulate.

“These indices are important for people with mortgages, but are also used to establish the price of petrol and the euro exchange rate and should therefore be fully trustworthy,” said Cora van Nieuwenhuizen, a Dutch liberal member of the European Parliament who steered the measure through.

The vote rubber-stamped a political deal reached between parliament and EU states last November on a draft law proposed by the European Commission.

The rules come into force this year and divide benchmarks into three categories, with critical benchmarks like Libor facing the strictest supervision.

Benchmarks are used in stock, bond, currency, oil and commodities markets as references in contracts like derivatives and home loans.

All administrators of benchmarks will have to be authorized by national regulators to ensure that data used to compile the benchmark is reliable.

The new rules will help to protect investors and consumers as benchmarks determine the value or performance of investments and the level of mortgage payments of millions of households in the EU, the bloc’s financial services chief Jonathan Hill said.

“I welcome today’s vote in the European Parliament, which means we now have new rules that will help rebuild confidence in financial markets in the European Union,” Hill said.

The EU has already approved a law making the rigging of benchmarks a criminal offence.

Britain, where much of the alleged rigging of Libor and currency markets took place, has introduced rules requiring key benchmarks to have an independent administrator.