Dodd-Frank 30 Day Countdown: Day 27

SEC to provide guidance on Dodd-Frank requirements and extend temporary rules under the Exchange Act.

As previously noted, the Securities Exchange Commission granted itself an extension to finalize the rules mandated by Dodd-Frank.   The Commission announced that it will shortly clarify which provisions of Title VII will automatically go into effect on July 16, alter some of the requirements for those automatic provisions and provide temporary relief from other provisions, if necessary. The Commission also plans to extend temporary rules under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, and the Trust Indenture Act. The SEC stated its hope that these actions will support the flow of credit default swaps into the clearing houses during the extension period.

Amidst the backlog of rulemaking, the Commission issued a final rule regarding the treatment of beneficial ownership of the equity securities underlying a securities based swap.  Last March, the Commission issued a proposed rule to determine the extent to which a security-based swap will be deemed to involve the acquisition of beneficial ownership of underlying equity securities for the purposes of Sections 13 and 16 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.   The proposed rule was considered noncontroversial because, in the Commission’s view, existing Exchange Act Rules 13d-3 and 16a-1 already provide sufficient guidance on this issue.  The proposed rule has now been reissued without change as a final rule that will take effect on July 16 under Title VII.

-Stephanie Kane contributed to this post