SEC Adopts Interim Final Rule Adjusting Federal Civil Monetary Penalties for Inflation

The SEC adopted an interim final rule that adjusts for inflation the maximum amount of civil monetary penalties governed by the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and certain penalties under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The interim final rule will implement the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, which amended the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, which itself was amended previously by the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996.

The interim final rule will become effective on August 1, 2016. Comments on the interim final rule must be received by August 15, 2016.