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The US Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, the US government’s central authority for review of regulation, information collection and coordination of federal private policy, has published its Spring 2021 agenda for regulatory action.
This lays out a short-term, and longer term, regulatory agenda for US administrative agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The SEC regulatory programme will focus on rules governing climate risk disclosure, cybersecurity and workplace diversity, including diversity on corporate boards.
Alongside a broad rulemaking agenda relating to the modernisation of equity, treasury and fixed income markets, the SEC will concentrate on ensuring transparency in short sale disclosure, share buybacks and in securities lending markets.
The SEC will also review uncompleted work from the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, including securities-based swaps and conflicts of interest in securitisation transactions.
More generally, it will direct attention to the activities of SPACs (special purpose acquisition companies), rules relating to mandatory electronic filings, and steps to promote shareholder democracy.
SEC chair Gary Gensler says: “To meet our mission of protecting investors, maintaining fair, orderly and efficient markets and facilitating capital formation, the SEC has a lot of regulatory work ahead of us. I look forward to collaborating with my fellow commissioners and staff to propose and finalise rules that will strengthen our markets, increase transparency and safeguard investors.”
