SEC Removes Credit Rating Criteria from Form S-3 and F-3 and from Certain SEC Rules
The Securities and Exchange Commission recently adopted amendments to remove investment grade criteria from the transaction eligibility requirements of Form S-3 and F-3. The SEC also adopted corresponding amendments to modify certain SEC rules that reference credit ratings. These form and rule changes will generally become effective on September 2, 2011. These changes were made in light of Section 939A of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank Act”), which requires that the SEC review its regulations with a credit ratings component and “remove any reference to or requirement of reliance on credit ratings and to substitute in such regulations such standard of credit-worthiness.”