2019-21260: Publication or Submission of Quotations Without Specified Information

Summary

The Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC" or the "Commission") is proposing amendments to 17 CFR 240.15c2-11 (the "Rule") under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act"). The Rule governs the publication of quotations for securities in a quotation medium other than a national securities exchange, i.e., over-the-counter ("OTC") securities. The Commission is proposing to provide greater transparency to investors and other market participants by requiring that information about the issuer and the security be current and publicly available; limit certain existing exceptions to the Rule, including the "piggyback exception," to provide greater protections to retail investors; reduce regulatory burdens on broker- dealers for the publication of quotations of certain OTC securities that may be less susceptible to potential fraud and manipulation, such as securities of certain issuers with higher capitalization and securities that were issued in underwritten offerings; and streamline the Rule, remove obsolete provisions without undermining the important investor protections of the Rule, and make technical, non-substantive changes. The Commission is also seeking comment about information repositories.

The agency’s own summary, as published.

What this changes

Amends 2 parts of the Code of Federal Regulations — the standing rules this notice rewrites.

• 17 CFR 230 General Rules and Regulations, Securities Act of 1933
• 17 CFR 240 General Rules and Regulations, Securities Exchange Act of 1934