New SEC Rules Add Thrifts To Broker-Dealer Exceptions
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The Securities and Exchange Commission has adopted interim final rules that give thrift institutions the same exceptions from its broker-dealer registration requirements that other banks enjoy.
Although the rules technically took effect May 15, the commission also extended full compliance until Oct. 1, to give banks time to comply with the rules and comment on them.
The new rules will allow thrifts to compete with other banks in the sales of securities-related products, notes Charlotte Bahin, director of regulatory affairs and senior regulatory counsel for Americas Community Bankers, Washington, a trade association.
"We are thrilled the SEC decided to grant exemptions to savings banks and associations," Bahin says.
The statutory provisions, which the SEC says it has to adopt under requirements of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, replace banks' longstanding full exemption from broker-dealer registration with one that grants exceptions for 15 functions. Banks that dont wish to limit their securities activities to these 15 functions either will need to register as broker-dealers or shift those activities to registered broker-dealers, the SEC says.
