SEC Staff Publishes Report on Access to Capital and Market Liquidity

The SEC Division of Economic and Risk Analysis (DERA) today published a report describing trends in primary securities issuance and secondary market liquidity, and assessing how those trends relate to post-crisis regulatory reforms. The report was requested by Congress as part of the FY2016 appropriations process.

The report includes a survey and analysis of recent academic literature, as well as original analyses drawn from publicly available databases and non-public regulatory filings. The report examines the issuance of debt, equity, and asset-backed securities, as well as activity and liquidity in U.S. Treasuries, corporate bonds, single-name credit default swaps, and bond funds. Specifically, the report identifies trends for unregistered offerings, such as those under Regulation D and Regulation Crowdfunding, as well as fixed income transactions, fixed income quotations, and broker-dealer financial positions.

"The health of our primary and secondary markets is critical, and it is important for the SEC, as a key regulator of these markets, to engage in data-driven analysis of market trends and the range of issues that may be influencing those trends. This report both provides a current view of these topics, based on available data, as well as highlighting areas where future analysis could be warranted," said DERA Acting Director Scott Bauguess.

For more information about the study, and its findings, analyses and conclusions, follow DERA on Twitter, @SEC_DERA.