Significant Securities Law Changes Included in Wall Street Reform Legislation

On July 15, Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Act), which President Obama signed into law on July 21. The Act is the most far-reaching financial reform legislation enacted in the United States since the 1930s. Although directed primarily at the financial services industry, the Act will have a major impact on nearly all domestic public companies by virtue of new requirements under the securities laws regarding corporate governance, executive compensation, and other matters. Foreign private issuers whose securities trade in the United States may be subject to some provisions of the Act unless the SEC exempts them.

Some provisions of the Act take effect one day after the law's enactment. Many other provisions have deferred effective dates, often because their implementation will depend on the completion of one or more of over 300 rulemaking initiatives, studies, or reports mandated by the Act. The Act is far from a finished product in terms of the parameters of the regulatory requirements authorized by it, and it is likely that several years will pass before the outer limits of these parameters are fully known.

This SEC Update highlights the provisions of the Act implicating the federal securities laws. We will issue additional SEC Updates examining the provisions in more detail as significant rulemaking initiatives advance and as other important developments affect them. Readers wishing to obtain information about other important provisions of the Act relating to major changes to the U.S. financial regulatory structure can do so by accessing Hogan Lovells' report on the entire Act, " Financial Services Reform Legislation Enacted."

The Act contains a wide variety of provisions designed to improve securities regulation and thereby enhance protections for investors. Key provisions of the Act intended to implement these purposes address:

• Corporate Governance
• Executive Compensation
• Private Offerings
• Credit Rating Agencies
• Asset Securitization
• Municipal Securities
• Investment Advisers to Private Funds
• Enforcement
• SEC Management
• Other Matters

View the full SEC Update

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.