Under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, regulatory authority over derivatives is divided between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The SEC has regulatory authority over security-based swaps, the CFTC has regulatory authority over swaps, and the SEC and the CFTC have joint regulatory authority over mixed swaps. 

Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Act (Title VII) amends the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to expand the regulation of security-based swaps. The SEC has proposed substantially all of the rules required to be adopted by Title VII. In light of the substantially complete picture of the proposed security-based swap regulatory regime and the adoption by the CFTC of many of the rulemakings creating the swaps regulatory regime, the SEC is reopening the comment periods for its outstanding rulemaking releases concerning security-based swaps and security-based swap market participants (the Proposed Rules). 

The SEC specifically is seeking comments on, among other things: (i) the economic consequences and effects, including costs and benefits, of the Proposed Rules; and (ii) the relationship of the Proposed Rules to any similar requirements of other authorities, and specifically whether and to what extent the SEC should emphasize consistency with the CFTC’s rules. 

The SEC is reopening the comment periods of the Proposed Rules until  60 days after publication in the Federal Register.

Click here to read the SEC Release on the reopening of the comment periods.