The Securities and Exchange Commission voted to propose rule amendments to simplify and streamline the financial disclosure requirements applicable to registered debt offerings for guarantors and issuers of guaranteed securities, as well as for affiliates whose securities collateralize a registrant’s securities.

The proposed amendments to Rules 3-10 and 3-16 of Regulation S-X would focus disclosures on information that is material to investors given the specific facts and circumstances, make the disclosures easier to understand, and reduce the costs and burdens for registrants.  By reducing compliance burdens, the proposed amendments should further encourage issuers to register debt offerings, and thus provide investors with additional protections that are not present in unregistered offerings.      

“I have seen firsthand instances in which an issuer did not pursue SEC registration of a debt offering that included a subsidiary guarantee or pledge of affiliate securities as collateral because of the costs and, in particular, time burdens of these rules,” said Chairman Clayton.  “The proposed rules are intended to make the disclosures easier for investors to understand and to encourage these offerings to be conducted on a SEC-registered basis.”

Click here to read a detailed fact sheet about the proposed changes. The proposal will have a 60-day public comment period following its publication in the Federal Register.