Industry groups have urged the Securities and Exchange Commission to keep a rule that enables asset-backed securities issuers to post static pool information on the Internet. The landmark Regulation AB, introduced in 2004, requires static pool data to be included in registration statements for ABS offerings. But the SEC granted temporary Web-based relief under Rule 312 of Regulation S-T. That relief is due to run out at year-end, but the SEC is proposing to extend it for 12 months.
The American Securitization Forum and two committees of the American Bar Association have in comment letters asked the SEC to keep Rule 312 and remove its sunset provision, arguing that there is no viable alternative to the Internet-based approach. “We believe that this accommodation has been highly successful, and that Web site presentation of this often voluminous statistical data has been of great value to investors,” ABA officials wrote.
Tom Deutsch, deputy executive director of the ASF, warned that, without an extension, “market participants would be forced to convert their presentation of static pool information to an EDGAR-compatible format that is largely ineffective for investors’ review and evaluation, and that carries with it substantial costs and other burdens.”--Ben Maiden