On February 9th, the SEC announced that it is proposing new rules and amendments intended to protect investors by reducing risks in the clearance and settlement of securities. The revisions would increase operational efficacy by shortening time between the execution of securities transaction and its settlement. The proposed rule would decrease the standard settlement cycle for the majority of broker-dealer transactions from two business days after the trade date (“T+2”) to one business day after the trade date (“T+1”).

On February 9th, the SEC announced that it is proposing new rules and amendments under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (Advisers Act) to improve the oversight of private funds and their advisers in the $18-trillion marketplace.

The SEC announced on February 9th that it is proposing to amend certain rules that govern beneficial ownership reporting under Exchange Act Sections 13(d) and 13(g). The rules would enhance disclosure requirements, reduce information imbalances and provide more timely information to meet the needs of investors and the market.

The EDGAR Business Office (EBO) has announced that on March 1, 2022, it will temporarily suspend the use of the EDGAR beta environment (EDGAR Beta) for testing of EDGAR Next code and to deploy code for other testing purposes. At a future date, the EBO will announce the re-deployment of EDGAR Next code in EDGAR Beta to allow filers to test possible future EDGAR Next technical changes.

The SEC has reopened the comment period on 2015 proposed rules under the Dodd-Frank Act (Act) requiring disclosure of information that reflects the relationship between the actual executive compensation paid by a company and the company's financial performance. The SEC is assessing whether additional performance measures might better reflect the Congressional objectives detailed in the Act. This is especially significant considering the value of and the need for dispensing information regarding executive compensation to investors. Should the proposed rule be adopted, it would improve the quality of executive compensation disclosure practices and provide shareholders with information needed to evaluate a company’s executive compensation policies.

On January 31th, the SEC issued its annual Staff Report on Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations (NRSROs), as required by Section 6 of the Credit Rating Agency Reform Act of 2006 and Section 15E(p)(3)(C) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.