SEC Nears Semiannual Disclosure Rule After White House Review
(Bloomberg) — The White House is reviewing a proposal from the Securities and Exchange Commission tied to semiannual corporate disclosures, a key hurdle that signals the agency is close to making the measure public.
The proposal was received by the White House’s Office of Management and Budget on Friday, according to a posting on a government website. Once that White House review is finished, the commission can then vote to release the plan and take public feedback. Commissioners would then need to vote again on a final version, possibly months later, for the rule to take effect.
Although details of the plan are scant, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins has recently floated scaling the frequency of corporate disclosures to a firm’s size.
The SEC has been working on the overhaul following President Donald Trump’s call last year to shift to semiannual reports from quarterly ones. Atkins has vowed to fast-track the potential plan, saying the change could save companies significant time and money but advocates of the disclosures say the transparency helps investors make key decisions.
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Wall Street’s top regulator is required to send draft regulations to the White House for review before publication under an executive order that Trump signed last year. Historically, SEC rulemaking efforts have averaged about 18 months from proposal to final rule.