SEC Issues Implementation Schedule for Dodd-Frank Act

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has released its 2012 schedule for the implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act, laying out its six-month goals for developing new rules and public reporting requirements.

During the first six months of the year, the SEC expects to address rules for corporate governance, risk retention requirements for asset-backed securities, derivatives and other issues covered by the law.

On the corporate governance front, the SEC said it would adopt rules dealing with compensation committee independence and rules regarding compensation consultant conflicts; rules for the disclosure of pay-for-performance, pay ratios and hedging by employees and directors; and rules regarding the recovery of executive compensation.

The schedule said the agency plans to report to Congress on standardization within certain elements of the credit rating process.

The SEC said it also expects to develop definitions for a number of derivatives-related terms, including intermediaries and securities-based swaps.

The SEC's full schedule for the implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act can be found on the agency's website.

The insurance industry has been closely watching the implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act, pushing lawmakers and administration officials to avoid lumping insurance companies in with banks. The industry has argued that insurance companies and banks are inherently different businesses, emphasizing the small number of insurance companies that failed during the financial crisis as opposed to the much larger number of banks that suffered (Best's News Service, Oct. 12, 2011).

(By Jeff Jeffrey, Washington Correspondent: jeff.jeffrey@ambest.com)