Posted on October 15, 2009 by Hunton & Williams LLP Print This Article

House Financial Services Committee Approves Derivatives Regulation

The House Financial Services Committee approved today legislation to regulate over-the-counter ("OTC") derivatives.  Included in OTC derivatives are swaps which, under the legislation, will now mostly be traded on exchanges and certain swap participants will be required to register with the applicable governing commission.  Additionally, the legislation lays out a parallel track regulatory framework with joint rulemaking authority residing in the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).  Should the SEC and CFTC be unable to issue joint rules within 180 days, the Treasury Department will have the ability to issue final rules. 

For more details click here for the House Financial Services Committee's press release, and click here for the mark-up and recorded vote tally. 

Posted on October 1, 2009 by Hunton & Williams LLP Print This Article

Newly Proposed Financial Regulatory Reform Legislation Would Broaden SEC Powers, Create Federal Insurance Office

Three proposed pieces of financial regulatory reform legislation released today would collectively increase the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) power and budget, require private advisers to hedge funds to register with the SEC, and create a Federal Insurance Office to assist policy makers in analyzing the insurance industry, according to today's press release by the House Financial Services Committee's Capital Markets Subcommittee Chairman Paul Kanjorski.  The draft bills are for each of the following, the Investor Protection Act, the Private Fund Investment Advisers Registration Act, and the Federal Insurance Office Act.
 
Click here for today's press release outlining each of the proposed bills.  Click here for the Investor Protection Act draft bill, click here for the Private Fund Investment Advisers Registration Act draft bill, and click here for the Federal Insurance Office Act draft bill.

Posted on June 10, 2009 by Hunton & Williams LLP Print This Article

Treasury Dept. Proposes Compensation Legislation for Publicly Traded Companies

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner outlined a set of compensation "principles" impacting publicly traded companies in a statement released today.  Included in the principles are two pieces of proposed legislation which Congress would first need to pass in order to become law.  The first, which is commonly referred to as "say on pay" legislation, would give the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) "authority to require companies to give shareholders a non-binding vote on executive compensation packages," according to today's statement  The second piece of proposed legislation would give "the SEC the power to ensure that compensation committees are more independent, adhering to standards similar to those in place for audit committees as part of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.  At the same time, compensation committees would be given the responsibility and the resources to hire their own independent compensation consultants and outside counsel," also according to today's statement.

Click here for Treasury Secretary Geithner's statement, click here for the Treasury Department's "say on pay" fact sheet, and click here for the Treasury Department's "Providing Compensation Committees New Independence" fact sheet.