SEC Seeks Public Comment to Improve Rules on Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities and Asset-Backed Securities

The Securities and Exchange Commission today published a concept release soliciting public comment on how to improve current SEC rules governing residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) and certain aspects of asset-backed securities (ABS) generally. The concept release notes there have been no public RMBS offerings since 2013, yet they are an important part of a healthy mortgage market because they provide access to a wider range of issuers and investors, reducing reliance on any one source of liquidity and contributing to lower consumer costs. The concept release seeks feedback from the public on whether there are SEC regulatory impediments contributing to the absence of public RMBS offerings, including whether certain disclosure requirements should be revised and how certain sensitive information about mortgage loans underlying the RMBS may be shared with investors in light of privacy and confidentiality concerns.