Publications
SEC Staff Guidance Paves Way for More ESG Proposals
February 2022
With more ESG proposals passing than ever before, the 2021 proxy season was a watershed moment for shareholder proposals on ESG issues and a significant increase in negotiated settlements. In this article, partners Ele Klein and Adriana Schwartz and associates Danny Goldstein and Abraham Schwartz discuss the November 2021 updated guidance from the staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Corporation Finance. Staff Legal Bulletin 14L, issued Nov. 3, 2021, revises that earlier guidance and significantly narrows the ability of these provisions to exclude ESG proposals from shareholder ballots. The guidance signals an important evolution in the SEC’s balancing of the interests of companies with those of shareholders regarding ESG proposals.
Related Insights
Alerts
On Feb. 16, 2024, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”), a bureau of the United States Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”), issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (“Proposed Rule”)[1] continuing the process of implementing regulations to combat illicit finance risks posed by abuse by some in the real estate market. The Proposed Rule would require certain persons involved in residential real estate closings and settlements to submit reports (“Real Estate Reports”) and keep accurate records of certain non-financed transfers of US residential real property. The reasoning behind the Proposed Rule is explained extensively in FinCEN’s December 2021 Anti-Money Laundering Regulations for Real Estate Transactions Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, which discusses “the opacity of shell companies or other legal entity structures to mask true beneficial ownership of a property and their involvement in real estate transactions.”[2]
Alerts
On Feb. 16, 2024, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”), a bureau of the United States Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”), issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (“Proposed Rule”)[1] continuing the process of implementing regulations to combat illicit finance risks posed by abuse by some in the real estate market. The Proposed Rule would require certain persons involved in residential real estate closings and settlements to submit reports (“Real Estate Reports”) and keep accurate records of certain non-financed transfers of US residential real property. The reasoning behind the Proposed Rule is explained extensively in FinCEN’s December 2021 Anti-Money Laundering Regulations for Real Estate Transactions Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, which discusses “the opacity of shell companies or other legal entity structures to mask true beneficial ownership of a property and their involvement in real estate transactions.”[2]
Alerts
On Feb. 16, 2024, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”), a bureau of the United States Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”), issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (“Proposed Rule”)[1] continuing the process of implementing regulations to combat illicit finance risks posed by abuse by some in the real estate market. The Proposed Rule would require certain persons involved in residential real estate closings and settlements to submit reports (“Real Estate Reports”) and keep accurate records of certain non-financed transfers of US residential real property. The reasoning behind the Proposed Rule is explained extensively in FinCEN’s December 2021 Anti-Money Laundering Regulations for Real Estate Transactions Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, which discusses “the opacity of shell companies or other legal entity structures to mask true beneficial ownership of a property and their involvement in real estate transactions.”[2]