News

SEC Issues Concept Release on ABS Disclosure

September 30, 2025

On Sept. 26, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a concept release to solicit public comment on the current SEC rules governing ABS, with a largely RMBS focus. Comments are due 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.

The SEC notes in an accompanying Fact Sheet that despite a “growing interest” among market participants for the return of publicly-issued RMBS, these securities have been issued only privately since 2013.

  • Market participants often cite RMBS asset-level disclosure requirements, particularly for private or confidential information, as key obstacles to the issuance of publicly-offered RMBS. 

The concept release further states:

There are several factors that may be contributing to the absence of registered offerings, including the dominance of the Agencies, which may be attributed to deep market liquidity, beliefs among some market participants regarding the availability of U.S. Government guarantees, more favorable underwriting standards compared to private-label RMBS, and attractive yields and returns for investors. Nevertheless, it is important to consider whether the Commission’s rules may be contributing to this absence.
While most of the release focuses on RMBS, it also posits whether the definition of “asset-backed security” in Regulation AB should be revised to facilitate expanded access to the public ABS market:
We are seeking public comment about whether we should amend the definition of ABS in Regulation AB to better align with the Exchange Act ABS Definition… Such revisions may bring clarity and uniformity to the current ABS regulatory regime and remove potentially unnecessary definitional and/or structural impediments to accessing the registered market for ABS issuers and investors, while providing sufficient flexibility and accommodating future developments in the ABS market.
  • The SEC also welcomes comments on any other aspects of the ABS registration and reporting regime. 
  • CREFC will review the concept release and work with members to provide comment. 

Please contact Sairah Burki (sburki@crefc.org) if you have any questions or would like to join this effort.

Contact 

Sairah Burki
Managing Director,
Head of Regulatory Affairs and Sustainability
703.201.4294
sburki@crefc.org
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The information provided herein is general in nature and for educational purposes only. CRE Finance Council makes no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, validity, usefulness, or suitability of the information provided. The information should not be relied upon or interpreted as legal, financial, tax, accounting, investment, commercial or other advice, and CRE Finance Council disclaims all liability for any such reliance. © 2025 CRE Finance Council. All rights reserved.

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