Tag: SEC relief

SEC provides conditional relief related to coronavirus (COVID-19)

Last week, SEC officials suggested that the SEC might provide relief to address the impact of the coronavirus (see this PubCo post), and today, the SEC came through, issuing an order providing “conditional regulatory relief for certain publicly traded company filing obligations.” As SEC Chair Jay Clayton observed, the “health and safety of all participants in our markets is of paramount importance. While timely public filing of Exchange Act reports is a cornerstone of well-functioning markets, we recognize that this situation may prevent certain issuers from compiling these reports within required timeframes.”  According to the order, a number of companies have advised the staff that the coronavirus “may present challenges in timely meeting certain of their obligations under the federal securities laws. These entities may include U.S. companies with significant operations in the affected areas, as well as companies located in those regions.” The SEC encourages companies to contact SEC staff with questions or matters of particular concern, such as administrative issues related to inability to obtain a required signature due to a quarantine or other issues that may need to be addressed on a case-by-case basis.