Securities Update - March 2013

SEC Approves New NYSE and NASDAQ Compensation Committee Listing Standards

By Kimberly K. Rubel and Peter B. Wolf

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on January 11, 2013, approved the amended proposals of the NYSE and NASDAQ to amend their respective listing standards relating to independence requirements for compensation committees and compensation advisers of listed companies to comply with Rule 10C-1 adopted by the SEC pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (Exchange Act). The SEC's adoption of Rule 10C-1 had been mandated by Section 952 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Protection Act of 2010.

The full text of the approved amendments can be found for the NYSE at http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro/nyse/2013/34-68639-ex5.pdf and for NASDAQ at http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro/nasdaq/2013/34-68640-ex5.pdf.