SEC Votes to Propose Rules With Respect to the Bank Broker Provisions of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act

At its open meeting today, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) voted unanimously to propose, jointly with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Federal Reserve Board”), rules to implement the bank broker provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that were added in 1999 as part of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (“GLBA”). The Federal Reserve Board will consider the proposed rules at a meeting on December 18, 2006. The public comment period on the proposed rules will extend for 90 days following their publication in the Federal Register. If adopted, the proposed rules will supersede any previous rules proposed or adopted by the Commission with regard to the bank broker exceptions enacted as part of GLBA. The Commission also voted to issue a companion proposal concerning certain bank dealer activities and other related matters.

The Commission’s full release, including the text of the proposed amendments, is not yet available. The webcast of the open meeting may be found at http://sec.gov/news/openmeetings.shtml and the Commission’s press release relating to the meeting may be found on the Commission’s website at http://sec.gov/news/press/2006/2006-205.htm.

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