On Jan. 11, 2013, the SEC approved the proposed listing
standards of the NYSE, Nasdaq and other exchanges relating to the
independence of compensation committee members and their
advisers.
The SEC approved the standards substantially as proposed in
October 2012 (see related item
here), including recent amendments to the proposals that made a
few minor changes (including extending the phase-in schedule for
issuers that cease to be smaller reporting companies and clarifying
that assessing the independence of compensation advisers is not
required for advisers whose roles are limited to consulting on
broad-based, nondiscriminatory plans or providing noncustomized
data).
The final standards impose new requirements on listed
companies' compensation committees relating to both (i) the
independence of committee members themselves and (ii) the
independence of the committee's advisers. The standards
relating to the independence of committee members themselves
generally go
