On March 1, 2017, the SEC published a request for public comment on the bank holding company ("BHCs") disclosures called for by Industry Guide 3—Statistical Disclosure by Bank Holding Companies. Stating that the financial services industry has changed drastically since Guide 3 was originally published in 1976 and last updated in 1986, the SEC is soliciting public input on whether Guide 3 continues to elicit the information that investors need for informed investment and voting decisions. The SEC also seeks comment on whether there are new types of disclosures about the activities of BHCs that investors would find important.
FPIs that are BHCs or banking organizations generally typically provide the Guide 3 disclosures, although there are some Guide 3 requirements that are not recognized concepts under IFRS. The SEC is seeking comment on whether foreign registrants that are banking organizations should provide the Guide 3 disclosures, whether the disclosures could be better aligned with IFRS and whether investors who rely on Guide 3 disclosures for foreign registrants that are banking organizations would lose important information if the requirements which overlap with US GAAP were eliminated.
The SEC is also considering if:
- new disclosures are needed, in particular with respect to:
- new activities undertaken by BHCs such as commodities, asset management, broker-dealer activities or changes in the industry such as the increasing importance of non-interest income;
- inclusion of disclosures required by other regulatory regimes that might be important for investors, such as call reports required by US prudential regulators, stress tests, resolution plans required for large BHCs by the Dodd-Frank Act or other international or local prudential regulatory reports; and
- outdated or overlapping disclosures can be removed.
The comment period will remain open until May 8, 2017. The
request for comment is available at:
https://www.sec.gov/news/pressrelease/2017-54.html
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