Delay In Dodd-Frank Executive Compensation Rules

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently indicated that further rule-making would not likely occur until October of 2015 with respect to:

• Pay for performance rules;
• Compensation clawback requirements;
• Hedging rules; and
• CEO pay ratio rules.

You can access the SEC’s regulatory agenda here.

Previously, the SEC had targeted the end of this year for action in each of these areas. Many issuers will likely be relieved by the delay of these Dodd-Frank requirements, especially the pay ratio rules, whose proposed regulations were the subject of significant comment.

In other areas of rule-making, such as compensation clawbacks and (to a lesser extent) hedging, market forces and institutional shareholder pressures have already led many publicly-traded companies to adopt policies that address these issues.