Historic Changes Proposed for ABS Offering Rules

On April 7, 2010, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") released a proposed rule (the "Proposed Rule") which, if adopted in its current form, would significantly revise Regulation AB¹ ("Regulation AB") and other rules applicable to registration, disclosure and reporting for asset-backed securities² ("ABS") and other structured finance products. The Proposed Rule and the SEC's accompanying commentary may be accessed at http://www.sec.gov/rules/proposed/2010/33-9117.pdf .

The Proposed Rule would, among other things, revise the shelf offering process for ABS and require ABS issuers to provide prospective investors with significantly more time to make investment decisions than under the current rules.