Earlier this month, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved amendments (the Amendments) to New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) rules that require listed companies to obtain shareholder approval of certain private placements and equity issuances to “related parties,” as well as requirements related to transactions between a listed company and certain related parties. In particular, the Amendments, which were initially proposed in December 2020 and subsequently modified, modified Sections 312.03, 312.04 and 314.00 of the NYSE Listed Company Manual. According to NYSE, the Amendments to Sections 312.03 and 312.04 are intended to more closely align shareholder approval requirements applicable to NYSE listed companies with comparable requirements for companies listed on Nasdaq or NYSE American and, in doing so, provide greater flexibility to NYSE-listed companies seeking to raise capital. The flexibility provided by such Amendments tracks, in various respects, the flexibility provided through temporary rules adopted by NYSE in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which are being terminated by the Amendments. The amendments to Section 314.00 clarify the role of the audit committee in approving related party transactions, and expand the scope of transactions to which related party transaction rules apply.
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Regulation S-K
SEC Adopts Amendments to MD&A and Other Financial Disclosures
On November 19, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it adopted amendments (the Amendments) to certain financial disclosure requirements in Regulation S-K, including with respect to Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (MD&A).
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SEC Adopts Rule Amendments to Modernize Business, Legal Proceedings and Risk Factor Disclosures Required by Regulation S-K
On August 26, the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted amendments to modernize the required disclosures under Regulation S-K regarding a company’s business description (Item 101), legal proceedings (Item 103) and risk factors (Item 105) (the Amendments). In a press release, the SEC staff noted that the Amendments are in line with the SEC’s long-standing commitment to a principles-based, registrant-specific approach to disclosure that, although prescriptive in some respects, focuses on materiality and is designed to provide an understanding of each registrant’s business, financial condition and prospects. The staff also noted that the Amendments are intended to result in disclosure that will be presented in a manner that is more readable because of the reduction of immaterial and/or repetitive disclosure and will also be more in line with the way that a registrant’s management and board of directors manage and assess the registrant’s performance. The Amendments reflect the adoption of rule amendments the SEC originally proposed in August 2019 (the Proposals), which were previously discussed in the August 16, 2019 edition of Corporate & Financial Weekly Digest, with certain modifications. The key changes made by the Amendments:
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SEC Proposes Amendments to Financial Disclosure in Regulation S-K and Issues New Guidance
On January 30, the Securities and Exchange Commission voted to propose amendments to certain financial disclosure requirements in Regulation S-K, in an effort to modernize and simplify such requirements. The SEC also issued new guidance relating to key performance indicators and metrics.
The SEC has proposed the following amendments and guidance to Regulation S-K:
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SEC Proposes to Modernize Business, Legal Proceedings and Risk Factor Disclosures Required by Regulation S-K
On August 8, the Securities and Exchange Commission proposed amendments to modernize the required disclosures under Regulation S-K regarding a company’s business description, legal proceedings and risk factors (the Proposal). The Proposal is part of the Staff’s disclosure effectiveness initiative to improve its disclosure regime for investors and registrants. The Proposal would implement a more principles-based approach with respect to the disclosure rules relating to the registrant’s business description and risk factors. The SEC notes that its aim for using such an approach, as opposed to prescriptive requirements, would be to “elicit more relevant disclosures” about the items because the current requirements “may not reflect what is material to every business.” The following are key elements of the proposed amendments.
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SEC Adopts Rules to Modernize and Simplify Disclosure
The Securities and Exchange Commission recently adopted final rules to modernize and simplify the disclosure requirements for public companies under Regulation S-K. This rulemaking was mandated by the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act), and the final rules are substantially in the forms originally proposed by the SEC in October 2017 (as discussed in the October 20, 2017 edition of the Corporate and Financial Weekly Digest).
The final rules make several significant changes to Regulation S-K and related rules and forms. The following are some highlights:
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SEC-Proposed Amendments to Modernize, Simplify and Increase the Accessibility of Required Disclosure
As previously reported in the October 13, 2017 edition of Corporate & Financial Weekly Digest, on October 11, the Securities and Exchange Commission proposed amendments (the Proposal) to modernize and simplify disclosure requirements in Regulation S-K, and related rules and forms. The Proposal is intended to reduce registrants’ burden and costs to comply with the SEC’s disclosure requirements, while making public filings easier for investors to read, navigate and understand, including by discouraging repetitive disclosure and the disclosure of immaterial information.
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SEC Chairman Clayton Makes First Public Speech Outlining His Vision for the Commission
On July 12, in his first major address since becoming Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this year, Jay Clayton outlined his vision for the SEC under his Chairmanship based upon eight guiding “principles” and his approach for implementing those principles into practice.
In the speech, delivered at the Economic Club of New York, Chairman Clayton stressed that protection of investors—particularly retail investors (or as Chairman Clayton referred to them, the “Main Street Investor”)—will be a fundamental principle underlying the policies and actions of the SEC under his leadership.
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SEC Publishes Concept Release Regarding Business and Financial Disclosure
On April 13, the Securities and Exchange Commission published a concept release, recommended by the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance, regarding business and financial disclosure required by Regulation S-K. This concept release is part of a comprehensive disclosure effectiveness initiative recommended in the SEC staff’s report on review of disclosure requirements in Regulation S-K, which was required by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS Act).
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