By Douglas Gillison and Michelle Price
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Donald Trump’s renewed push to nix quarterly corporate disclosures, a drive that went nowhere in his first administration, has a better chance this time as the White House takes more control of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s agenda.
Trump on Monday called for the SEC to allow U.S.-listed companies to issue periodic disclosures every six months instead of requiring quarterly reports. Echoing arguments made by business groups, Trump said the change would cut company costs and allow management teams to focus on the long term.
Despite likely opposition from some investors, some analysts said they expect the SEC would move to a European-style system in which companies are mandated to report only every six months by 2027, although many big companies would likely choose to stick with the current quarterly regime.
Trump had issued a similar call midway through his first administration, and a few months later the SEC, led by Jay Clayton, solicited public comment. But with an already crowded agenda and the COVID-19 pandemic shaking up government priorities, the SEC ultimately left the current regime in place.
This time, the idea stands a good chance of becoming a reality, in part because SEC Chair Paul Atkins, a free-market Republican who has criticized burdensome corporate red tape, is working closely with the White House as it takes more control of independent agencies, said analysts and Washington insiders.
In a break from the norm, the White House has vetted the SEC’s regulatory agenda, and has been driving other major SEC policy changes on cryptocurrencies and SEC workforce cuts.
This month the SEC released that broad-brush agenda which included an item, loosely slated for April, aimed at rationalizing corporate disclosures, creating a potential vehicle for the SEC to kick off a public consultation process.
Atkins also would face a friendlier Congress and conservative-leaning court system, and has more time to work through the often lengthy rule-writing process which requires the SEC to assess the impact of changes on market efficiency, competition and capital formation and to seek public comment.
“The Trump 2.0 administration is very different from the Trump 1.0 administration. Trump 2.0 is bolder than Trump 1.0, so we may actually see action,” said James Angel, an expert in financial regulation at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, noting the SEC’s swift and early moves favorable to the crypto industry. “I think it has a much better chance.”
INVESTOR OPPOSITION STILL LIKELY
On Monday evening, an SEC spokesperson said the agency was prioritizing the proposal, but declined to comment further on Tuesday. Clayton, now the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, declined to comment. He has said in the past the SEC could reduce the company-reporting burden without hurting investors.
The White House is working with the rest of the administration to deliver “a long-term restoration of American Greatness,” spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said in a statement.
Brian Gardner, chief Washington policy strategist at Stifel, in a note on Tuesday said the SEC could issue a regulatory proposal as early as this year.
Big business groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable have long pushed for more streamlined reporting rules.
“Modernizing disclosure can help alleviate costly and burdensome compliance requirements while simplifying investors’ ability to focus on key information,” Bill Hulse, a senior vice president at the U.S. Chamber, said in a statement.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a Washington trade group executive familiar with the matter said the White House’s keen interest in the SEC’s work made it more likely the rule would become reality, but said some investors may oppose the changes.
“The thought that investors would focus on the longer-term over three-month data sounds nice. However, it would probably create more volatility around earnings as the range of possible outcomes will be for a longer period,” said Andrew Horowitz, an investment adviser in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
The Council of Institutional Investors, a major investor group which represents employee benefit funds and retirement savers, told Reuters its position had not changed from 2019, when it opposed the possible change, arguing that quarterly disclosures were a necessary guide to investment decision making.
Still, some investors pushing businesses to do more on longer-term sustainability issues voiced cautious support for the idea, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Douglas Gillison; writing and additional reporting by Michelle Price and David Gaffen; Editing by Leslie Adler)
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