U.S. SEC chief details summer of rulemaking
WASHINGTON, June 12 (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has a full summer agenda that includes proposing ways to make it easier for U.S. investors to access foreign securities, updating how energy companies report oil reserves and creating an online municipal bond database.
"It's quite a laundry list of important topics," SEC Chairman Christopher Cox said on Thursday at a Chartered Financial Analyst conference. "Our agenda for all of 2008 ... will be just as busy."
Cox, a Republican, was appointed to head the SEC by President George W. Bush, whose term expires in January. A new president typically replaces the heads of federal agencies.
SEC commissioners are due to meet in two weeks to propose streamlining adoption of rule proposals by self-regulatory groups, which include the major stock exchanges. The exchanges have criticized the SEC for its slow approval process, saying it stifles development of new products.
At the June 25 meeting, the SEC is also due to vote on creating a municipal bond filings website similar to the EDGAR system used by companies to file quarterly and annual reports. Cox said he was working with lawmakers to "true up the quality of disclosure" of municipal securities markets.
The SEC also intends to propose a rule that would make it easier for U.S. investors to access foreign securities. Currently, they cannot directly do business with a foreign broker and must work through a U.S. broker "chaperone."
The meeting is also due to address how credit rating agencies are referenced in existing SEC regulations. The SEC proposed a credit rating reform package earlier this week.
Cox said that as early as this month the SEC could address when equity-indexed annuities should be treated as securities. Sale of the complex annuities, which often have high surrender charges, has risen over the last decade.
Other items this summer will be a proposal to update 25-year-old requirements for how oil and gas companies book and disclose reserves, Cox said, and interpretative guidance on "soft dollar" arrangements, in which brokerages include the cost of stock and bond research in trading execution fees.
The SEC will also look at an overhaul of 12b-1 fees charged by mutual funds for marketing and distribution, Cox said. Proponents of reform say these fees are essentially a slush fund for brokers.
Cox said the SEC would consider an interpretive release of the valuation of fund portfolios, guidance on the use of broker websites and point-of-sale materials, and plans to finalize rules on "naked" short selling and the approval process of new exchange traded funds.
He was less specific about when the SEC would act on controversial proxy access for shareholders, saying it was possible the SEC could adopt a proposal during his chairmanship to enhance shareholders' voting participation. The SEC voted in November to restrict proxy access by backing its interpretation of its rules to allow companies to exclude shareholder proposals for director nominations from corporate ballots.
Lawmakers have urged the SEC to delay taking action on the topic until there is a full commission. Since February, the five-member SEC has been operating with three commissioners, all Republican and one with an expired term. Three nominees are awaiting Senate confirmation. (Reporting by Karey Wutkowski, Editing by Toni Reinhold)
