SEC Proposes Modernizing Transfer Agent Rules
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission proposed updating rules for registered transfer agents to reflect electronic communications, blockchain technology and services not covered by regulations last substantively revised decades ago.
- The SEC proposed updates to rules and forms for registered transfer agents.
- Transfer agent rules have not been substantively updated since the late 1970s and early 1980s.
- The proposal addresses electronic communications, electronic recordkeeping and blockchain technology in securities offerings and share transfers.
- It would amend existing rules and forms, rescind a rule and introduce new rules.
- Public comments will be accepted for 60 days after Federal Register publication.
The proposed changes would align federal transfer-agent regulation with today’s securities markets, where electronic recordkeeping, electronic communications and blockchain technology increasingly shape offerings and share transfers.
Transfer agents are a key component of the national clearance and settlement system. The SEC said their rules have not been substantively updated since the first rules were adopted in the late 1970s and early 1980s, while transfer agents now perform a more diverse array of functions and services that may not be adequately addressed.
The proposal would amend existing rules and forms, rescind a rule and introduce new rules for registered transfer agents and their activities. It is intended to modernize the federal framework while continuing to facilitate the safe and efficient functioning of U.S. securities markets and the national clearance and settlement system.
“This proposal would streamline and modernize the Commission’s rules to reflect transfer agents’ current processes and operations, including the use of electronic communications and blockchain technology in connection with securities offerings and the transfer of shares,” SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins said.
The proposing release is published on SEC.gov and will be published in the Federal Register. The public comment period will remain open for 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.
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