18 Apr With New SEC Chair, Rules Soon?

Mary Jo White was sworn in as the new Chair of the SEC on April 10 following the unanimous consent of her appointment by the US Senate.  Like her predecessor, Ms. White prefers to be called Chairman. Chairman White has quite the agenda before her. Dodd-Frank rulemakings. Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act rulemakings. Getting tough on enforcement.

We know that certain Senators have been particularly pushing Chairman White to get crowdfunding regulations completed. As we know, the JOBS Act authorized companies to raise up to $1 million per year by offering to as many individuals as they like without running afoul of securities restrictions. But this part of the law cannot be implemented without necessary SEC rulemaking.

We are also awaiting final SEC rules required by the JOBS Act that will eliminate the ban on general solicitation in private offerings under SEC Regulation D. This will allow investment banks and others raising money not in a public offering to advertise, promote deals on websites and the like, so long as the ultimate investors are all “accredited” (generally $200,000 income or $1 million net worth not counting your primary residence). But again, it’s not official until the rules are passed.

We wish Chairman White great success in her leadership of the SEC.