Category: Regulatory
SEC (finally) proposes new rules on climate disclosure [UPDATED—PART I]
[This post is Part I of a revision and update of my earlier post primarily reflecting the contents of the proposing release. This post covers background and describes various aspects of the proposal other than the sections on GHG emissions disclosure and attestation, which will be covered in a separate post early […]
SEC (finally) proposes new rules on climate disclosure
“Highly anticipated” is surely an understatement for the hyperventilation that has accompanied the wait for the SEC’s new proposal on climate disclosure regulation. The proposed rulemaking has been a subject of conjecture for many months, and internal squabbles about where the proposal should land have leaked to the press. (See this […]
UK Financial Conduct Authority Changes Listing Rules to Boost Growth and Innovation
On 2 December 2021, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) confirmed a series of rule changes designed to remove immediate barriers to listing, make its rulebooks more accessible, and protect and enhance market integrity. These changes came into force on 3 December 2021, except for minor changes to modernise and […]
9th Circuit Decides Section 11 Standing in a Direct Listing
When the SEC was considering the NYSE’s proposal to permit direct listings of primary offerings, one of the frequently raised problems related to the potential “vulnerability” of “shareholder legal rights under Section 11 of the Securities Act.” Section 11 provides standing to sue for misstatements in a registration statement to any person […]
SEC Decreases Fee Rates for Fiscal 2022, Which Begins October 1, 2021
Today, the SEC announced that it was reducing the fees it charges issuers to register their securities. In fiscal 2022, the fee rates for registration of securities and certain other transactions will be $92.70 per million dollars, down from $109.10 per million dollars last year. These rates are set each year to […]
Is There a Resurgence in the Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures?
In 2016 and early 2017, the SEC made a big push—through a series of staff oral admonitions and written guidance, as well as an enforcement action—to require issuers to be more transparent and more consistent in the use of non-GAAP financial measures and to avoid altogether non-GAAP measures that were […]
SEC to Scrutinize Company Accounting for Impact of Climate
In February, then-Acting SEC Chair Allison Lee directed the staff of Corp Fin, in connection with the disclosure review process, to “enhance its focus on climate-related disclosure in public company filings,” starting with the extent to which public companies address the topics identified in the interpretive guidance the staff issued regarding climate […]
Is the SEC considering guidance on SPAC projections?
Reuters is reporting—exclusively—that the SEC is contemplating issuing more guidance that would “rein in growth projections” made by listed SPACs and clarify when the PSLRA would be available to protect SPAC projections, “according to three people with knowledge of the discussions.” According to Reuters, the SEC guidance “would escalate its crackdown on the […]
SEC Approves NYSE Amendment of Shareholder Approval Provisions
In December 2020, the NYSE proposed to relax the requirements for shareholder approval of related-party equity issuances and bring them into closer alignment with the comparable Nasdaq rules by amending Sections 312.03, 312.04 and 314.00 of the NYSE Listed Company Manual. The amendments were intended to provide more flexibility to raise […]
Corp Fin Again Amends Guidance on Extensions of Confidential Treatment Orders
Corp Fin has once again amended Disclosure Guidance Topic No. 7, Confidential Treatment Applications Submitted Pursuant to Rules 406 and 24b-2, to modify—slightly—the alternatives available for companies with confidential treatment orders that are about to expire. The guidance was last amended in September 2020 (see this PubCo post), but apparently needed […]