U.S. SEC considers relaxing post-crisis structured mortgage product rules

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday said it was seeking feedback on whether disclosure rules were discouraging firms from issuing SEC-registered residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) as the Trump administration seeks to overhaul the U.S. housing finance market. The move, which follows five years of limited activity in the SEC-registered RMBS market, could result in the SEC loosening disclosure requirements introduced in the wake of the 2007-2009 subprime mortgage crisis. SEC Chairman Jay Clayton said that he had asked agency officials to review SEC disclosure requirements for RMBS introduced in 2014 in a bid to revitalize offerings for these products and help boost capital formation in the housing market.