Critics are warning that the SEC's recently proposed rule
(the "Proposed Rule") prohibiting conflicts of interest
in asset-backed securities (ABS) transactions may impede the
ability of financial institutions, broker-dealers and others to
enter into interest rate hedges and other risk-mitigating
transactions.
The Proposed Rule, issued in January, resurrects a prior 2011
SEC proposal that lay dormant for over a decade after facing
substantial pushback from industry participants. The re-proposal
has revived this controversy, with critics arguing it is overly
broad in scope and may create unintended consequences for the
broader market.
Statutory Requirement and Proposed Rule
Section 27B of the Securities Act of 1933, which was added by
Section 621 of the Dodd-Frank Act, prohibits underwriters,
placement agents, initial purchasers and sponsors of ABS and their
affiliates from engaging in "any transaction that would
involve or result in a material conflict of