Broker-dealers had been preparing for the sunset of the prior time-based relief that the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission provided in respect of compliance with Rule 15c2-11 as to certain fixed income securities, which expires on January 4, 2025. The SEC had separately provided exemptive relief with respect to Rule 144A securities; however, this still left broker-dealers with burdensome requirements to address for other fixed income securities. Now, the staff of the SEC has provided further relief in a no-action letter that was issued just yesterday for fixed income securities, which allows broker-dealers to continue to provide quotes to the extent that either the issuer or the fixed income securities meet one of seven specified criteria. Among others, relief is available for asset-backed securities, securities of an issuer that files call reports with a banking agency, and securities of an issuer that is an SEC-reporting company. See the no-action letter relief.
A more detailed alert will follow.