SEC Seeks Feedback on Disclosure Requirements for Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities

In a public statement, SEC Chairman Jay Clayton has asked for public input on asset-level disclosure requirements for residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBSs). He noted that the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s recently issued housing reform plan recommended that the SEC “review the RMBS asset-level disclosure requirements to assess the number of required reporting fields and to clarify the defined terms for SEC-registered private-label securitization issuances.”

In addressing the purpose of his request for comments, Chairman Clayton stated, “Since the financial crisis, activity in the SEC-registered RMBS space has been very limited and since the Commission revised its ABS rules in 2014, no SEC-registered RMBS offerings have taken place. . . . While there are a number of factors that may be contributing to the absence of SEC-registered RMBS offerings, I am interested in receiving feedback on whether any portion of the Commission’s 2014 ABS rules are a significant contributing factor to this absence.”

The SEC has created both a webform and an e-mail box that the public can use to submit feedback on this topic. For more information, including a list of specific questions for consideration, see Chairman Clayton’s public statement on the SEC’s Web site.