September 6, 2018 - September 5th was an eventful one for SEC Commissioners, future and past, and eventful as well for the LSTA, which met with the SEC Chairman.  On the Commissioner front, the Senate voted 85-14 to confirm Elad Roisman to be a Republican member of the SEC.  Roisman was most recently the chief counsel on the Senate Banking Committee and succeeds Michael Piwowar, who stepped down from the SEC in July.  With the appointment of Roisman, the SEC will once again have the full contingent of five commissioners.

Piwowar, who will be one of the headliners at the LSTA’s forthcoming annual conference, made his own news today, joining the Milken Institute as Executive Director of its Center for Financial Markets.  The Milken Institute is a Santa Monica based nonpartisan think tank founded by former Wall Street financier Michael Milken whose mission is “to increase global prosperity by advancing collaborative solutions that widen access to capital, create jobs and improve health.”

Finally, LSTA Executive Director Lee Shaiman, EVP Meredith Coffey and General Counsel Elliot Ganz met with SEC Chairman Jay Clayton to discuss important issues in the loan market.  Why does the SEC care about the loan market?  The vast majority of Term B Loans are held by managers who are SEC registered advisers (through CLOS, mutual funds, and separate and comingled accounts) subject to primary SEC jurisdiction.  The LSTA team discussed with Chairman Clayton the challenges of LIBOR Transition, and also sought his help in resolving the issue of whether managers of loans for SMA’s are subject to the SEC’s custody rules because loans do not settle delivery vs. payment.  Our productive first meeting with Chairman Clayton was consistent with our goal of maintaining an open and transparent dialogue with our primary regulators.