In the waning months of the Trump administration, the then-president signed a raft of executive orders and new legislation that potentially limit access by Chinese companies to US capital markets. Chief among these actions, the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (“Act”) (signed into law on 18 December 2020) bans public trading in the United States in “covered issuers” audited by firms with offices in non-US jurisdictions where the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) is unable to inspect. The Act stems from a longstanding issue relating to the ability of the PCAOB to conduct inspections of audit firms in certain countries.

In the waning months of the Trump administration, the then-president signed a raft of executive orders and new legislation that potentially limit access by Chinese companies to US capital markets. Chief among these actions, the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (“Act”) (signed into law on 18 December 2020) bans public trading in the United States in “covered issuers” audited by firms with offices in non-US jurisdictions where the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) is unable to inspect. The Act stems from a longstanding issue relating to the ability of the PCAOB to conduct inspections of audit firms in certain countries.

Join Baker McKenzie regulatory and enforcement practitioners as we navigate this uncertain time and work together through the challenges ahead. We offer practical advice and real-time analysis of the changing landscape across the United States, Europe and Asia. Webinar Series: The New Framework for Investment Adviser Marketing In this 4-part…

In a significant regulatory action, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently proposed to issue an order granting certain “finders” a conditional exemption from broker-dealer registration in connection with capital raising activities in private markets (“Finders Proposal”). The Finders Proposal seeks to address the long-standing regulatory uncertainty surrounding the status of intermediaries in the private capital-raising markets and to encourage investment in small businesses, which disproportionally rely on finders to locate capital. The proposed exemption would allow natural persons to engage in certain limited activities involving accredited investors without registering with the SEC as brokers under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”).

Welcome to the first of our series of year-end analyses of the year in securities regulation and enforcement. First, we will consider the past year “by the numbers,” the statistics that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), or more specifically, its component Divisions and Offices, release annually. Later parts of…