Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins told House lawmakers Wednesday that the agency is working on an electronic delivery rule as well as updates to its rules governing off-channel communications.
During a question and answer session with Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., during an SEC oversight hearing held by the House Financial Services Committee, Huizenga asked if the commission had a plan to engage in a rulemaking regarding e-delivery. "Yes, we are looking at all that," Atkins responded. "I've instructed staff to work on that."
"E-delivery makes sense; It's seamless and convenient, saves money, reduces waste," Huizenga said. "SEC action on this would bring fund disclosures in line with similar changes made by the IRS and FINRA just this year."
FINRA said last week that it plans to seek SEC approval for its updated rule allowing broker-dealers to make electronic delivery their default method when sending investor disclosures and other communications.
Huizenga also asked: Does the agency plan to propose "updated, common-sense recordkeeping rules that would give firms clear and reasonable guidance with what records they need to keep?"
Atkins replied: "We are definitely working on that. I've instructed the staff to do that. The crazy quilt of different standards for different types of market participants — broker-dealers, advisors, rating agencies."
Huizenga pointed to news last September that the agency erased nearly a year's worth of text messages from former SEC Chairman Gary Gensler's government-issued mobile phone due to a "poorly understood and automated policy."
The agency's inspector general reported then that it undertook a review "to determine what happened and why, how the agency responded, and any implications for federal records management."
SEC Chairman Paul Atkins. Credit: Diego M. Radzinchi/ALM
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