The SEC first incorporated reliance on credit ratings into its rules and regulations in 1975 in connection with how broker-dealers must compute their net capital. In that rule, the SEC specified that a broker-dealer, in computing its net capital, could take a lesser deduction from its net worth as to securities that were rated as having a comparatively low chance of default according to a credit rating of a ¿nationally recognized statistical rating org.¿ (¿NRSRO¿). This report focuses on the implementation of and compliance with the Rating Agency Act and SEC rules. It also assessed the SEC¿s efforts to oversee the NRSROs and to implement the Rating Agency Act¿s accountability, competition, and transparency objectives.

Regulation of Securities: SEC Answer Book, Fifth Edition is your complete guide to understanding and complying with the day-to-day requirements of the federal securities laws that affect all public companies. Using a question-and-answer format similar to that which the SEC has embraced, this valuable desk reference provides concise, understandable answers to the most frequently asked compliance questions, and ready access to key statutes, regulations, and court decisions. Designed for both beginners and seasoned professionals, the volume contains approximately 1,400 pages organized in 23 self-contained chapters. Each chapter covers the basics before moving into the nuanced details, meeting the needs of those who seek a general understanding of a topic as well as those grappling directly with critical issues. Twice-yearly supplements keep the book current in this rapidly evolving field. Whether you are a lawyer, accountant, corporate executive, director or investor, you'll be able to quickly find concise answers to essential questions about the Dodd-Frank Act, Exchange Act registration and reporting, executive compensation disclosure, derivatives disclosure, management's discussion and analysis, audit committee responsibilities, Sarbanes-Oxley, electronic filing, interactive financial data, tender offers, proxy solicitations, insider trading, going private transactions, shareholders' rights, SEC investigations, criminal enforcement, securities class actions, and much more!