On December 13, 2023, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted rule amendments (Treasury Clearing Rules) designed to improve risk management in clearance and settlement and to facilitate additional central clearing for the US treasury market.

At its next open meeting on December 13, 2023, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is expected to adopt rules (the Treasury Clearing Rules) to improve risk management in clearance and settlement and facilitate additional central clearing for the US treasury market. More specifically, the SEC is scheduled to consider whether to adopt amendments to the standards applicable to covered clearing agencies for US Treasury securities regarding their membership requirements and risk management.

The House Committee on Financial Services passed the Improving Disclosure for Investors Bill of 2023 on April 26, 2023 with bipartisan support. If passed by Congress and signed into law, the bill could alter the regulatory landscape for electronic delivery (e-delivery) by US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) registrants by eliminating the requirement to obtain an investor’s affirmative consent for e-delivery and allowing firms to implement a notice and optout approach to implementing e-delivery.

As many are aware, Congress passed its own version of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) staff’s mergers and acquisitions (M&A) broker no-action letter in December 2022, creating a new exemption from broker registration in Section 15(b)(13) of the Exchange Act that largely tracks the SEC staff’s no-action letter, with one important tweak.