Regulatory Update: SEC Agenda, More Color on Rule 15c2-11
May 20, 2025
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Practicing Law Institute (PLI) held their SEC Speaks program on May 19 and 20.
Why it matters: The program, typically held annually, provides an update on the SEC’s current priorities, including guidance on rules, regulations, and enforcement actions.
- This is particularly important given that the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs has not yet updated its semi-annual regulatory calendar, which provides industry with a roadmap on regulatory policy priorities. The last update was in November 2024.
The event featured remarks from Chair Paul Atkins and Commissioners Mark Uyeda, Hester Peirce, and Caroline Crenshaw.
- In his opening remarks, according to Politico, Chair Atkins focused on the need for a friendlier regulatory environment for financial start-ups, particularly within the cryptocurrency industry. He said that the SEC has until now been operating with a "shoot-first-and-ask-questions-later" approach to the industry in recent years.
- He also stated that he has instructed staff to revisit a more than two decades-old rule that limits the ability of closed-end funds to invest in private funds. He is interested in regulatory changes that would allow average investors to participate in private funds.
- Uyeda said that he was pleased to witness the SEC’s “major course correction” since January, returning to its “core mission” of regulating the capital markets. He also shared that he looks forward to “refocusing regulatory resources and tools” with Chair Atkins.
- Peirce, as chair of the SEC’s crypto task force, shared her thoughts on the crypto market and related regulation. She noted, “My short answer to the question—Are crypto assets securities?—is that most currently existing crypto assets in the market are not.” She also noted that “important work lies ahead of us in areas such as expanding access to capital, reinvigorating our public markets, regrounding disclosure in materiality.”
- Crenshaw, the sole Democrat on the Commission, cautioned against the SEC’s deregulatory stance, characterizing it as “playing a game of regulatory jenga.” She said that the agency has rescinded rules and guidance without enough analysis and that with a 15% reduction in staff, the SEC has lost a “deep well of institutional knowledge.”
The conference also featured senior staff at the Divisions of Investment Management, Trading and Markets, Corporation Finance, Enforcement, Examinations, and Economic and Risk Analysis, and the Offices of the Chief Accountant and General Counsel.
What they’re saying: During the Trading and Markets panel, acting Director David Saltiel highlighted Rule 15c2-11, which requires broker-dealers to ensure securities issuers have provided certain types of public disclosure. The rule had applied to equities since the 1970s, but the SEC recently interpreted the regulation to also apply to fixed income securities.
- Saltiel shared that the Division is considering next steps for relief from 15c2-11 for public fixed income. (He noted that the SEC has already provided exemptive relief for the application of Rule 15c2-11 to 144A fixed income securities and, more recently, an indefinite no-action extension for public debt.)
- In response to former SEC Commissioner Elad Roisman’s question about how the industry can best share their 15c2-11 concerns with the agency, Director Saltiel asked for more detail on the challenges in meeting 15c2-11 requirements and the impacts to underlying markets.
- CREFC has been deeply engaged in advocacy related to 15c2-11, both on the exemptive relief and no-action extension, and will continue to meet with SEC leadership and staff on this topic. We will also monitor SEC Speaks today.
Please contact Sairah Burki (sburki@crefc.org) with any questions related to the SEC’s regulatory priorities.
Contact
Sairah Burki
Managing Director,
Head of Regulatory Affairs and Sustainability
703.201.4294
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