What does this mean in practice? Don't lend to ski resorts or buyers of beach properties? Lend to air conditioner manufacturers?

Commissioner Allison H. Lee wrote a dissent that goes to the question of the proper role of the SEC.

Ms. Lee argues that the reduced disclosure requirements will result in a loss of information to investors, which reduction is to the detriment of investors. This argument, with which one may agree or disagree, is straightforward. Concerns as to the adequacy of disclosure are central to the mission of the SEC.

The second basis of Ms. Lee's argument requires closer attention. She…

The promulgation of regulation is always on an upward trend. The President's Executive Order offers a moment to consider discarding regulations that are outmoded or an economic drag. To advocate the reversal of the trend is not to suggest caveat emptor. Rather, it is to suggest that perhaps 50,000 rules are unnecessary where 40,000 would suffice. Yesterday's story offers a good example. Prohibitions in Section 11(d) of the Exchange Act are now almost 90 years old and are simply no longer…

Is it really necessary for the CFTC to impose any conditions on the sale, by a European-regulated firm to European investors, of products that are regulated effectively as securities under European law? The letter demonstrates two obvious problems with the current state of the law: (i) jurisdictional overreach and (ii) the illogic of the silo-ization of the treatment of different types of financial instruments (e.g., warrants on securities are regulated (or not) in one manner, and warrants…