Securities and Exchange Commission August 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the ``Dodd-Frank Act'') was enacted on July 21, 2010. Section 719(d) of the Dodd-Frank Act mandates that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the ``CFTC'') and the Securities and Exchange Commission (the ``SEC'' and, together with the CFTC, the ``Commissions'') jointly conduct a study to determine whether stable value contracts (``SVCs'') fall within the definition of a swap. Section 719(d) of the Dodd-Frank Act also requires that the Commissions, in making that determination, jointly consult with the Department of Labor, the Department of the Treasury, and the State entities that regulate the issuers of SVCs. Further, Section 719(d) of the Dodd-Frank Act provides that if the Commissions determine that SVCs fall within the definition of a swap, they jointly shall determine if an exemption for SVCs from the definition of a swap is appropriate and in the public interest. In connection with this study, the Commissions' staffs seek responses of interested parties to the questions set forth below.

Section 942(a) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act eliminated the automatic suspension of the duty to file under Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 for asset-backed securities issuers and granted the Commission the authority to issue rules providing for the suspension or termination of such duty. We are adopting rules to provide certain thresholds for suspension of the reporting obligations for asset-backed securities issuers. We are also amending our rules relating to the Exchange Act reporting obligations of asset-backed securities issuers in light of these statutory changes.