"Building A Dynamic Framework For Offering Reform"

At today's PLI Securities Regulation Institute conference, SEC Chair White delivered the keynote address. In her speech (see link: https://www.sec.gov/news/speech/building-dynamic-framework-for-offering-reform.html), Chair White addressed a broad range of topics. She noted the successes of securities offering reform as an important initiative undertaken by the Commission that balanced access to capital formation with investor protection concerns. As cited in her speech, over the three-year period that ended on September 30, 2014, WKSIs undertook more than 1,500 equity offerings, almost three per issuer, with gross proceeds totaling about $523 billion. Over the same period, WKSIs also undertook more than 2,700 debt offerings, more than three per issuer, with gross proceeds totaling about $1.4 trillion. She also cited a number of studies that have assessed the quality and frequency of company disclosures. As a cautionary note, Chair White observed that concerns have