Revision of Holding Period Requirements in Rules 144 and 145

The Commission is amending the holding period requirements contained in Rule 144 to permit the resale of limited amounts of restricted securities by any person after a one-year, rather than a two-year, holding period. Also, the amendments permit unlimited resales of restricted securities held by non-affiliates of the issuer after a holding period of two years, rather than three years. These changes should reduce the cost of capital, particularly for small business issuers. Parallel changes to Rule 145 also are being adopted.