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Company Announcement
COPENHAGEN, Denmark; April 26, 2021 – Genmab A/S (Nasdaq: GMAB). On February 23, 2021 Genmab announced the initiation of a share buy-back program to mitigate dilution from warrant exercises and to honor our commitments under our Restricted Stock Units program.
The share buy-back program is expected to be completed no later than June 30, 2021 and comprises up to 200,000 shares.
The following transactions were executed under the program from April 19, 2021 to April 23, 2021:

 
No. of shares
Average price (DKK)
Total value (DKK)

Accumulated through last announcement
115,000
 
237,524,833

April 19, 2021
1,800
2,206.24
3,971,232

April 20, 2021
1,600
2,217.64
3,548,224

April 21, 2021April 22, 2021
1,6001,500
2,233.892,281.41
3,574,2243,422,115

April 23, 2021
1,400
2,262.10
3,166,940

Total
7,900
 
17,682,735

Accumulated under the program
122,900
 
255,207,568

Details of each transaction are included as an appendix to this announcement.
Following these transactions, Genmab holds 225,877 shares as treasury shares, corresponding to 0.34% of the total share capital and voting rights.
The share buy-back program is undertaken in accordance with Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 (‘MAR’) and the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1052, also referred to as the “Safe Harbour Regulation.” Further details on the terms of the share buy-back program can be found in our company announcement no. 11 dated February 23, 2021.
About GenmabGenmab is an international biotechnology company with a core purpose to improve the lives of patients with cancer. Founded in 1999, Genmab is the creator of multiple approved antibody therapeutics that are marketed by its partners. The company aims to create, develop and commercialize differentiated therapies by leveraging next-generation antibody technologies, expertise in antibody biology, translational research and data sciences and strategic partnerships. To create novel therapies, Genmab utilizes its next-generation antibody technologies, which are the result of its collaborative company culture and a deep passion for innovation. Genmab’s proprietary pipeline consists of modified antibody candidates, including bispecific T-cell engagers and next-generation immune checkpoint modulators, effector function enhanced antibodies and antibody-drug conjugates. The company is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark with locations in Utrecht, the Netherlands, Princeton, New Jersey, U.S. and Tokyo, Japan. For more information, please visit Genmab.com.
Contact:        Marisol Peron, Senior Vice President, Global Investor Relations & CommunicationsT: +1 609 524 0065; E: [email protected]
For Investor Relations:Andrew Carlsen, Vice President, Head of Investor RelationsT: +45 3377 9558; E: [email protected] Company Announcement contains forward looking statements. The words “believe”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “intend” and “plan” and similar expressions identify forward looking statements. Actual results or performance may differ materially from any future results or performance expressed or implied by such statements. The important factors that could cause our actual results or performance to differ materially include, among others, risks associated with pre-clinical and clinical development of products, uncertainties related to the outcome and conduct of clinical trials including unforeseen safety issues, uncertainties related to product manufacturing, the lack of market acceptance of our products, our inability to manage growth, the competitive environment in relation to our business area and markets, our inability to attract and retain suitably qualified personnel, the unenforceability or lack of protection of our patents and proprietary rights, our relationships with affiliated entities, changes and developments in technology which may render our products or technologies obsolete, and other factors. For a further discussion of these risks, please refer to the risk management sections in Genmab’s most recent financial reports, which are available on www.genmab.com and the risk factors included in Genmab’s most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F and other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which are available at www.sec.gov. Genmab does not undertake any obligation to update or revise forward looking statements in this Company Announcement nor to confirm such statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances after the date made or in relation to actual results, unless required by law.Genmab A/S and/or its subsidiaries own the following trademarks: Genmab®; the Y-shaped Genmab logo®; Genmab in combination with the Y-shaped Genmab logo®; HuMax®; DuoBody®; DuoBody in combination with the DuoBody logo®; HexaBody®; HexaBody in combination with the HexaBody logo®; DuoHexaBody®; HexElect®; and UniBody®. Arzerra® and Kesimpta® are trademarks of Novartis AG or its affiliates. DARZALEX® and DARZALEX FASPRO® are trademarks of Janssen Pharmaceutica NV. TEPEZZA®is a trademark of Horizon Therapeutics plc.

Company Announcement no. 33CVR no.

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LONDON, April 26, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — eToro, the world’s leading social investment network, today launches BitcoinWorldWide, a thematic portfolio based on the companies in the value chain behind bitcoin. While it includes some exposure to bitcoin itself, the portfolio’s core focus is the companies operating to support further adoption.
“As it crosses into mainstream awareness, bitcoin is increasingly in the spotlight” says Dani Brinker, eToro’s Head of Portfolio Investments. “New all-time highs might make headlines, but the most significant change surrounding the world’s largest crypto is not its price, but the companies building the value chain around it. From mining operations to chip manufacturers and those delivering services to support usage, payments, exchanges and custody, there’s more to bitcoin than you might think.”
Released in 2009, bitcoin currently boasts a market capitalisation in excess of $1 trillion. Throughout the last decade, the first and most famous crypto has gone through multiple stages of adoption – from unfamiliar tech to a household name attracting institutional investment and media headlines. Last year marked another milestone, with payments companies including Square and PayPal announcing plans to support bitcoin payments, setting the groundwork for millions around the world to easily transact in bitcoin. Now, only 12 years after its founding, you can pay with bitcoin in HomeDepot, buy a Tesla, grab a Whopper or KFC (in some countries), buy games in the Xbox Store and pay your AT&T phone bill.
The portfolio includes companies such as Paypal, chip manufacturer Nvidia, mining hardware producer Canaan and newly public crypto exchange, Coinbase, as well as a bitcoin allocation. eToro considers bitcoin’s value chain to include companies operating in the mining, semiconductor, payments, exchange, custodianship and insurance spaces, as well as the asset itself. It intentionally excluded organisations that are bullish on bitcoin but lack business units related to its activity. For example, MicroStrategy, will not feature in the portfolio as its treasury holdings are its only connection to bitcoin.
“Our aim is to provide retail investors with an easy way to get exposure to companies that deliver a service or product essential to the further adoption of bitcoin,” explains Dani Brinker. “It is a broader approach to bitcoin investing that offers a diversified investment, uncorrelated with the bitcoin itself, but maintains exposure to the growth potential of the crypto sector.”
BitcoinWorldWide is one of over forty thematic CopyPortfolios available on the social investment platform. eToro users can invest in BitcoinWorldWide from as little as $1,000 with no management fees. Other costs, including spread and conversion fees (for those not depositing in USD), do still apply. 
Notes to editors
Click here for more information on BitcoinWorldWide.
About eToro 
eToro is a multi-asset investment platform that empowers people to grow their knowledge and wealth as part of a global community of successful investors. eToro was founded in 2007 with the vision of opening up the global markets so that everyone can trade and invest in a simple and transparent way. Today, eToro is a global community of more than 20 million registered users who share their investment strategies; and anyone can follow the approaches of those who have been the most successful. Due to the simplicity of the platform users can easily buy, hold and sell assets, monitor their portfolio in real time, and transact whenever they want.
Disclaimer:
Cryptoasset investing is unregulated in some EU countries and the UK. No consumer protection. Your capital is at risk.
CopyPortfolios is a portfolio management product, provided by eToro (Europe) Ltd., which is authorised and regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission.
CopyPortfolios should not be considered as exchange traded funds, nor as hedge funds.
Logo- http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/520426/eToro_Logo.

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Endeavor’s Beverly Hills headquarters.

Beverly Hills-based entertainment company Endeavor Group Holdings Inc. is looking to raise $511.2 million in its initial public offering. The company has a valuation of around $10 billion, according to its latest filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Endeavor plans to offer 21.3 million shares priced at $23 to $24. The company is expected to list on the Nasdaq before the end of the year. Separately, Endeavor said it also plans to raise $1.7 billion in a private placement with several investors, including Chinese technology conglomerate Tencent Holdings Ltd., New York-based firm Elliott Management Corp., and Menlo Park-based private equity firm Silver Lake Partners. Endeavor said it will use $437 million from the private offering to complete its buyout of mixed martial arts company Ultimate Fighting Championship, better known as UFC. Endeavor already owns 50.1% of UFC, which it acquired in 2016 from Las Vegas-based sports promotion company Zuffa.Endeavor announced it would resume its quest to go public on March 31, after a failed effort two years ago. In September 2019, Endeavor backed out of an IPO bid on the day its shares were supposed to hit the stock market, citing weak demand. The company had sought to raise at least $405 million at a valuation of $6.5 billion. Endeavor was founded in 1995 by Ari Emanuel, the company’s chief executive. Its holdings include talent agency William Morris Endeavor, sports management company IMG, the Miss Universe Organization and art festival Frieze.In February, after a nearly two-year impasse with the Writers Guild of America West, Endeavor reached an agreement with the union that included a plan to lower its stake in its production company, Endeavor Content, to 20%. Endeavor saw a net loss of more than $625 million in 2020, and revenue plummeted nearly 24% to $3.48 billion for the year. Amid the pandemic, Endeavor laid off 250 people and top executives Emanuel and Executive Chairman Patrick Whitesell did not take salaries for the year.  “In a year when the unique ability of content to unite people and elevate important issues was never more apparent, we were proud to do our part in ensuring the most powerful stories were heard while supporting our clients in using their platforms to amplify diverse voices,” Emanuel said in a letter with the SEC filing.
For reprint and licensing requests for this article, CLICK HERE.

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The SEC has filed a motion to dismiss Ripple’s “lack of due process and fair notice” defense that the XRP token could be deemed a security. The SEC v.

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By: Hadassa Kalatizadeh
The new Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Gary Gensler, has an ambitious agenda, as well as a plate full of problems to tackle.
The 63-year-old Democrat, formerly a Goldman Sachs investment banker, formerly Secretary of Treasury for Domestic Finance, and a professor at MIT Sloan School of Management, began his post as Wall Street’s new top cop as of April 17.  Gensler had also led the Biden-Harris transition Federal Reserve, Banking and Securities Regulators agency review team, and had served as the 11th chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission under former President Barack Obama.  Now, as the 33rd chair of the US SEC, the Wharton School graduate will endeavor to improve corporate disclosure and better regulate digital currencies.

As reported by the NY Times, as chairman he will also need to decide how to deal with the red-hot market for special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, which have raised more than $100 billion from investors, and which are replacing IPOs as a less regulated way for startups to go public.  He will also need to steer the SEC’s standing in whether to more actively protect small investors, who have recently become a strong driving force in the stock markets, igniting drastic stock market price fluctuations, including with the infamous trading of GameStop shares.  As he enters the office, he will inherit a hectic market, and have numerous major issues awaiting his decisions.  “Gensler is going to be confronted with a range of enforcement issues, and he is going to have to determine what his priorities are,” said Daniel Hawke, a former chief of the S.E.C.’s market abuse unit.

Persons who know Gensler have confidence that he will be able to swiftly navigate through issues that need attention and be able to tackle his own agenda as well.  “One thing that Gary demonstrated very well at C.F.T.C. is he has ability to move a very broad agenda and very fast,” said Dennis Kelleher, who had served under him on President Biden’s financial policy transition team.
As per the Times, Gensler is expected to want to take on topics including cryptocurrencies, which he taught related classes about at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and try to approach regulation around digital assets more strategically and add more guidance.  He is also expected to seek more transparency from companies and big investors on environmental issues, including risks and contributions to climate change.  He will also likely push disclosure regarding diversity on company boards and senior leadership positions.

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… a number of factors, including those discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. About Air Lease Corporation (NYSE: AL).

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SFL Corporation Ltd. (the “Company” or “SFL”) has mandated DNB Markets as Joint Bookrunner and Sustainability Structuring Advisor and Arctic Securities and Pareto Securities as Joint Bookrunners to arrange a series of fixed income investor calls commencing on Tuesday, April 27. A USD denominated 5-year senior unsecured sustainability-linked bond issue may follow, subject to, inter alia, market conditions. Net proceeds from the bond issue will be used to refinance existing bonds and for general corporate purposes.April 26, 2021The Board of Directors SFL Corporation Ltd.Hamilton, BermudaInvestor and Analyst Contacts:Aksel Olesen, Chief Financial Officer, SFL Management AS+47 23 11 40 36André Reppen, Senior Vice President & Chief Treasurer, SFL Management AS+47 23 11 40 55Media Contact:Ole B. Hjertaker, Chief Executive Officer, SFL Management AS+47 23 11 40 11About SFLSFL has a unique track record in the maritime industry and has paid dividends every quarter since its initial listing on the New York Stock Exchange in 2004. The Company’s fleet of more than 80 vessels is split between tankers, bulkers, container vessels and offshore drilling rigs. SFL’s long term distribution capacity is supported by a portfolio of long term charters and significant growth in the asset base over time. More information can be found on the Company’s website: www.sflcorp.comCautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking StatementsThis press release may contain forward looking statements. These statements are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including SFL management’s examination of historical operating trends, data contained in the Company’s records and other data available from third parties. Although SFL believes that these assumptions were reasonable when made, because assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond its control, SFL cannot give assurance that it will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or intentions.Story continuesImportant factors that, in the Company’s view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward looking statements include the strength of world economies, fluctuations in currencies and interest rates, general market conditions including fluctuations in charter hire rates and vessel values, changes in demand in the markets in which we operate, changes in demand resulting from changes in OPEC’s petroleum production levels and world wide oil consumption and storage, developments regarding the technologies relating to oil exploration, changes in market demand in countries which import commodities and finished goods and changes in the amount and location of the production of those commodities and finished goods, increased inspection procedures and more restrictive import and export controls, changes in our operating expenses, including bunker prices, dry-docking and insurance costs, performance of our charterers and other counterparties with whom we deal, timely delivery of vessels under construction within the contracted price, changes in governmental rules and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities, potential liability from pending or future litigation, general domestic and international political conditions, potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents or political events, and other important factors described from time to time in the reports filed by the Company with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

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The recent confirmation of Gary Gensler, President Joe Biden’s appointee to lead the SEC, ratcheted up expectations that the agency will toughen oversight.Since late February, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has issued at least five public statements spelling out the wide variety of climate-related risks facing businesses and investors. It’s also warned the money-management industry about mislabeling ESG funds as being green when they really aren’t at all.The recent confirmation of Gary Gensler, President Joe Biden’s appointee to lead the SEC, ratcheted up expectations that the agency will toughen oversight as compared with the previous administration. Gensler, who previously served as chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, indicated at a Senate hearing in March that he planned to stick with the same focus on ESG issues put in place by Allison Herren Lee, who had been serving as acting chair.
As we marked the 51st anniversary of Earth Day last week, one of the world’s most influential financial regulators has accomplished a 180-degree turn in only a few short months. The SEC made plain its new direction on Feb. 26, when it issued a bulletin to educate investors about environmental, social and governance funds that laid out key questions consumers should ask before doling out any money.
On HoustonChronicle.com: Big companies line up to crush green transparency resolutions
Less than a week later, the regulator followed up with a statement from the Division of Examinations listing its top priorities. The first was climate-related risks.
Among other steps, the SEC plans to monitor “proxy voting policies and practices to ensure voting aligns with investors’ best interests and expectations, as well as a firm’s business continuity plans in light of intensifying physical risks” associated with climate change. “Through these and other efforts, we are integrating climate and ESG considerations into the agency’s broader regulatory framework,” Lee wrote.
A day later, on March 4, the SEC announced the creation of a climate and ESG task force within the Division of Enforcement to develop initiatives to proactively identify ESG-related misconduct. The initial focus will be to uncover any material gaps or misstatements in issuers’ disclosure of climate risks under existing rules.

Lee then wrote in a March 15 statement that she had asked staff to evaluate the SEC’s rules “with an eye toward facilitating the disclosure of consistent, comparable and reliable information.” Investor demand for specifics about “climate change risks, impacts and opportunities has grown dramatically” since 2010, she said.
“Climate and ESG are front and center for the the SEC,” Lee wrote. “We understand these issues are key to investors—and therefore key to our mission.”
On April 9, the commission’s Division of Examinations issued a “risk alert,” saying there’s a high likelihood that some investment advisers are promoting funds as ESG products when the reality is quite different. Certain mischaracterizations were so bad that the agency signaled firms— without naming any—may be violating securities laws.
The string of pronouncements makes clear the SEC is serious about stamping out the mis-selling of investment products and improving corporate disclosures. The onus is now on Gensler and his colleagues to follow through to ensure that investors are protected.

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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission appointed Alex Oh as Director of the Division of Enforcement. Oh was most recently a partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP and co-chair of the law firm’s Anti-Corruption & FCPA Practice Group. She was previously an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, where she was a member of the Securities & Commodities Fraud Task Force and the Major Crimes Unit.
Archax, the only FCA regulated digital securities exchange, brokerage and custodian, appointed Malcolm Ford to spearhead institutional sales. Ford brings a comprehensive network and wealth of experience from the institutional capital markets space, having worked for a number of large financial institutions, including CMC Markets, Instinet, KCG, Morgan Stanley and Credit Agricole Cheuvreux. He has also worked for leading boutique firms including Assure Hedge, Linear Investments and Monsas, and is a founding member of The Broker Club.
Binance.US, one of the world’s largest bitcoin exchanges, hired Brian Brooks, a former top U.S. banking regulator, The Wall Street Journal reported. Brooks, who was an acting head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in the Trump administration, will become the new chief executive of Binance.US on May 1, the Journal reported, citing an interview with Brooks. 

Credit Suisse said John Dabbs and Ryan Nelson, two executives in charge of its prime brokerage unit will leave in the wake of its $4.7 billion loss from the collapse of hedge fund Archegos Capital Management. The bank said in a memo that Dabbs and Nelson will immediately step down as co-heads of prime services, and assist the bank through mid-May for an orderly transition.
BlockFi named J. Christopher (“Chris”) Giancarlo to its Board of Directors. In his role as a member of the Board, Giancarlo will provide valuable guidance to the company’s leadership on strategic matters, namely blockchain innovation, regulatory developments, and growth initiatives.

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As technology revolutionizes the financial sector, experts discuss how policymakers should respond.

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Technological innovation is changing the financial sector. Cryptocurrency markets have surged to all-time highs, culminating in the historic initial public offering of Coinbase, the first major cryptocurrency company to go public on a U.S. stock exchange. Retail investors have used Reddit and various commission-free trading platforms to spark unprecedented market volatility in “meme stocks,” such as GameStop. And at the same time, the Internal Revenue Service has struggled to distribute stimulus checks to millions of Americans, highlighting the need for better technological and regulatory solutions to facilitate faster payments in the United States.
New financial technology, or “fintech,” promises to make the financial system faster, better informed, and more global. Once a budding sector of finance, fintech is now a constant presence in every corner of the industry. Fintech products have opened the door to many new opportunities for consumers, investors, and businesses. But with these opportunities, come new challenges. Regulators and policymakers face key choices as they adapt to meet the needs of this constantly changing landscape while keeping investors and consumers safe.
The Regulatory Review has invited policymakers, scholars, and practitioners from across the financial sector to discuss the pressing issues fintech poses for the industry and to offer their insights about how fintech will continue to impact financial institutions, markets, and regulators in the future.
The contributors to this series include: Usman Ahmed, Head of Global Public Policy and Research at PayPal Inc.; Jo Ann Barefoot, CEO of Alliance for Innovative Regulation; Christian Catalini, Chief Economist of the Diem Association; Rick A. Fleming, the Investor Advocate at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission; Daniel Gorfine, a professor at Georgetown University School of Law; Kristin Johnson, a professor at Emory University School of Law; Ivy K. Lau, a member of the Global Public Policy and Research team at PayPal Inc.; Alexandra M. Ledbetter, Senior Corporation Finance Counsel in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of the Investor Advocate; Jai Massari, a partner at Davis Polk and Wardwell LLP; Annette L. Nazareth, a Senior Counsel at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP; Michael Nonaka, a partner at Covington & Burling LLP; Marlon Paz, a partner at Mayer Brown LLP; Jennifer J. Schulp, the Director of Financial Regulation Studies at Cato Institute’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives; Kevin Werbach, a professor at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania; and Yesha Yadav, a professor at Vanderbilt Law School.

More Data, More Problems
April 26, 2021 | Rick A. Fleming and Alexandra M. Ledbetter, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Investors in capital markets have access to more information than ever before, but it is challenging for even sophisticated market participants to sort through all of the data. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission should adopt data standardization practices for corporate reporting to make accessing reported information easier and less costly for the investing public.

Did Reddit Break the U.S. Securities Markets?
April 27, 2021 | Marlon Paz, Mayer Brown LLP
Recent market volatility in GameStop and other “meme stocks” has put a national spotlight on the evolving role of technology in regulating U.S. capital markets. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission should improve the antiquated plumbing of the U.S. securities trading infrastructure to speed up the clearing and settling process. 

DeFi Is the Next Frontier for Fintech Regulation
April 28, 2021 | Kevin Werbach, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
Decentralized finance promises significant benefits, including democratized access to financial products, improved market efficiency, easier access to liquidity, enhanced financial privacy, and faster innovation. DeFi, however, also poses serious and multifaceted risks.

The U.S. Digital Identity Crisis
April 29, 2021 | Usman Ahmed, Paypal Inc., Daniel Gorfine, Georgetown University School of Law, and Ivy K. Lau, Paypal Inc.
Creating a digital currency in the United States would not, on its own, solve the challenge of disbursing government aid to individual citizens. The Internal Revenue Service would also require a digital infrastructure before it could implement a more efficient and secure method for transferring payments.

The Trading Game
May 3, 2021 | Jennifer J. Schulp, Cato Institute
Growing numbers of individual investors are now trading on their phones through app-based commission-free trading platforms. But these platforms have come under fire recently for a new innovation: the “gamification” of trading.

Disintermediation and Decentralization in Financial Markets
May 4, 2021 | Kristin Johnson, Emory University School of Law
Research suggests that financial intermediaries abuse their role by extracting fees from unwary and sophisticated investors. Juxtaposing intermediary-driven transactions with those executed on blockchain protocols reveals the promise and peril of disintermediation.

FinCEN as the Chief Innovation Agency
May 5, 2021 | Michael Nonaka, Covington & Burling LLP
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network is poised to be one of the most influential federal government agencies in charting the course for financial services innovation over the next several years.

Financial Regulation for the Digital Age
May 6, 2021 | Jo Ann Barefoot, Alliance for Innovative Regulation
The existing financial regulatory system takes analog-era processes and information flows and speeds them up with computers. The new digital age requires that regulators rethink entirely how they operate.

DeFi, Disintermediation, and the Regulatory Path Ahead
May 10, 2021 | Jai Massari, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, and Christian Catalini, Diem Association
In seeking to eliminate the need for intermediaries in financial transactions, decentralized finance may hold great promise, but it also raises novel policy and regulatory considerations.

Challenges in Regulating Digital Innovation
May 11, 2021 | Yesha Yadav, Vanderbilt Law School
Fintech products bring consumers into more direct contact with the financial system through digital technologies and new categories of financial service providers. Their emergence raises urgent questions about tradeoffs regulators must make between promoting innovation, market integrity, and simplicity. 

The Role for Distributed Ledgers in Voluntary Carbon Markets
May 12, 2021 | Annette L. Nazareth, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP
The urgent demand for voluntary carbon markets animates the need for a new infrastructure to support these markets. A few innovators are positioning themselves to seize this new opportunity through distributed ledger technology.

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The SEC should promote data standardization to protect investors from information overload.

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Federal securities laws are designed to protect investors by ensuring that they get the information they need to make smart investment decisions. These laws have supported U.S. capital markets for nearly a century. Now, however, there is more information available than ever before, but it is a challenge for even sophisticated market participants to sort through all of the data. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) should help.
The SEC’s Office of the Investor Advocate supports data standardization for corporate reporting because it ultimately makes access to the information reported easier and less costly for the investing public. Data standardization enables straight-through processing—an automated retrieval process conducted purely through electronic transfers with no manual intervention. This automated retrieval, in turn, enables enhanced search capabilities. Although data standardization may seem technical and prosaic, it is vitally important for the future of investor protection.
The following example illustrates how standardized data works. Suppose someone wants to cross-reference one dataset with another to discover information about a company, such as the company’s liability exposure.
To extract data about the company from multiple datasets, one needs to identify the same company within each dataset. This task is challenging because different datasets use different entity identifiers. The most common entity identifier is “company name,” but there can be numerous variations, such as “Inc.” or “Incorporated,” or names of predecessors of companies that have engaged in business combinations. Although U.S. federal agencies sometimes use numerical entity identifiers when referencing companies, these identifiers tend to be used only for internal agency functions and are incompatible with one another.
When Lehman Brothers collapsed in 2008, for example, major financial institutions were slow to ascertain their aggregate exposures because their data systems could not quickly aggregate all of Lehman Brothers’ several thousand legal entities.
Without a uniform and specific identifier, one must rely on mapping tables to compare datasets. Yet mapping tables require significant maintenance and updates that are manual, duplicative, expensive, and error-prone.
This basic problem has long stymied investors’ ability to understand market links and exposures. The U.S. Congress sought to address the problem by creating the Office of Financial Research, an agency within the U.S. Department of Treasury with a mandate to improve financial data. The office was created over a decade ago, yet much more work remains to be done.
The Financial Transparency Act—a bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2019—would advance this work.
This legislation would require the nine financial regulatory member-agencies of the U.S. Financial Stability Oversight Council to adopt and apply uniform data standards for the information collected from entities under their jurisdiction. The legislation would make U.S. financial regulators adopt a uniform legal entity identifier, such as the G-20 backed Legal Entity Identifier (LEI).
The Financial Transparency Act would resolve a collective action problem among financial regulators, which have been reluctant to invest in changing systems due to resource constraints, concerns about the imposition of upfront costs and knock-on effects on regulated entities, and uncertainty as to whether the LEI would be useful in practice. Indeed, investors can only realize the LEI’s full benefits if there is widespread adoption of the system.
Even without new legislation, however, Congress already requires federal agencies to implement data standardization practices more broadly.
In 2018, Congress passed the Open, Public, Electronic, and Necessary Government Data Act, which codifies and builds on federal policies and data infrastructure investments supporting information quality, access, protection, and use. This law provides a sweeping, government-wide mandate for all federal agencies to publish government information in a machine-readable language by default. The extent to which the mandate applies to various types of information, however, is subject to debate.
The Office of the Investor Advocate has encouraged the SEC to incorporate machine-readability specifications in regulations and forms when it updates reporting requirements for other substantive reasons. Veterans of the LEI initiative have written about the importance of sustained, top-level support in government and industry—both to break through entrenched private interests and to maintain momentum when implementing data standardization over a period of years. Without such leadership, progress tends to be gradual and piecemeal.
One of President Joseph R. Biden’s first actions upon taking office was to sign an executive order establishing new processes and expectations to improve federal data collection and collaboration for public health initiatives. The order includes a directive to “make data open to the public in human- and machine-readable formats as rapidly as possible,” which would enable a standard digital process for reporting case statistics and other epidemiological information.
We hope that the President’s action will lead to a prioritization of data standardization across the federal government—not only in the context of public health, but also in corporate reporting broadly.

Rick A. Fleming is the Investor Advocate at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Alexandra M. Ledbetter is the Senior Corporation Finance Counsel in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of the Investor Advocate.

This essay is part of an 11-part series, entitled Regulation In the Era of Fintech.

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Chinese companies are listing on U.S. exchanges at a record pace, Bloomberg News reports.
The move to U.S. equity markets come even as U.S. market regulators promulgate rules that could make life difficult for Chinese companies.
U.S. initial public offerings this year have generated $6.6 billion for companies from Mainland China and Hong Kong — a record pace and eight times the same period in 2020, Bloomberg reported, citing its own data.
According to Bloomberg, the largest Chinese-company U.S. IPOs were electronic-cigarette-maker RLX Technology’s $1.6 billion software company Tuya Inc.’s $947 million.
Other big years for Chinese companies holding IPOs in the United States have been 2001, 2007, 2011, 2014 and 2018, according to a Bloomberg-produced chart also based on the news and data service’s own research.
The current wave of interest comes even as the federal Securities and Exchange Commission has enacted rules requiring foreign companies listing on U.S. exchanges to give accountants greater access to audits. Companies failing to comply could be de-listed from U.S. exchanges.
“They would acknowledge this is a potential risk, and if something happens they might need to get prepared for a rainy day,” Stephanie Tang, head of private equity for Greater China at law firm Hogan Lovells, told Bloomberg. “But the risk itself would not prohibit those companies from going to the U.S., at least in the second half of this year or probably toward next year.”
“The U.S. still remains a magnet for the IPOs of Chinese technology companies,” Tang reportedly added. “Just in terms of the pipeline, I don’t see any pause to that. I think the pipeline is very strong.”
While U.S. exchanges come with certain regulatory headaches for Chinese companies, they also offer a level of liquidity successful firms are unlikely to encounter in their home market.

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NEW PYMNTS STUDY: SUBSCRIPTION COMMERCE CONVERSION INDEX – APRIL 2021

About The Study: One third of consumers who signed up for subscription services within the past year were just in it for the free trial. In the 2021 Subscription Commerce Conversion Index, PYMNTS surveys 2,022 U.S. consumers and analyzes more than 200 subscription commerce providers to zero in on the key features that turn the “subscription curious” into sticky, long term subscribers.

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More than 150 officers and employees have been terminated or quit, including more than 45 loan officers since fall 2019, according to a company SEC …

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CEBU, Philippines — Food maker Monde Nissin has received approval from the Philippine Stock Exchange for its planned initial public offering that could raise 63 billion pesos ($1.3 billion) in what will be the country’s largest-ever listing.
The PSE approval came a day after Monde Nissin, which makes the best-selling Lucky Me! instant noodles in the Philippines and meat alternative Quorn in the U.K., received pre-effective approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In its registration statement with the SEC, the company said it is offering 3.6 billion shares at 17.50 pesos each. The final price will be determined on May 18 while the offer period is scheduled on May 24 to May 28.

“The timing of the offer, final offer price, the final number of offer shares, and allocation of the proceeds will depend on market conditions, the circumstances surrounding the offer, and will be subject to favorably securing the necessary regulatory approvals,” Monde Nissin earlier said.
The 63 billion pesos gross proceeds exclude the proceeds from the exercise of an over-allotment option of up to 15% of the shares being offered, the company disclosed.
IPO proceeds will be used for the expansion and enhancement of its production and technological capacities, including its businesses in the U.K. and other key markets.
The proposed Monde Nissin IPO will be bigger than the total of about $809 million raised in the Philippines market from four listings in 2020.
In Philippine filings, IPO prices are typically set far above final selling prices. Underwriting discounts and commissions, and other offering expenses payable by Monde Nissin are expected to be deducted from the gross proceeds.
Aside from Lucky Me! noodles, Monde Nissin’s brand portfolio includes SkyFlakes crackers, Fita crackers and Monde baked goods. The listing also comes nearly six years after the company acquired alternative meat maker Quorn in the U.K. for $831 million in what was considered a big-ticket deal from the Philippines.
“We are excited about the prospect of becoming a global public company and believe that Monde Nissin provides a compelling investment opportunity,” the company said.
Monde Nissin’s IPO is one of seven listings lined up to launch on the PSE this year. Together, they could raise a record amount of over $3.3 billion, surpassing the total of $2.7 billion raised in the archipelago from 2016 to 2020.
National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, the local transmission operator partly owned by State Grid Corporation of China, is also taking steps to push through its long-delayed IPO. which would garner about $1 billion.
Analysts, however, said achieving the target may be a tall task as it would depend on several factors, including vaccine distribution and economic recovery.
For the original story from DealStreetAsia, click here.
DealStreetAsia is a financial news site based in Singapore that focuses on private equity, venture capital and corporate investment activity in Asia, especially Southeast Asia, India and greater China. Nikkei owns a majority stake in the company.

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Major cryptocurrencies including bitcoin and Ethereum’s coin have lost significant value compared to the U.S. dollar since the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden indicated on Thursday that capital gains taxes could be increasing.
A single bitcoin was worth $52,121.62 as of 10:20 p.m. Sunday, according to cryptocurrency exchange platform Coinbase.com — a decline from the $55,278.64 Coinbase quoted for 9:30 a.m. EST Friday. The evening price represented an increase in bitcoin’s value from figures just hours earlier.
Ethereum, another major cryptocurrency, was fetching $2,435.33 at about 10:20 p.m. Sunday — a decline from its Friday high of about 1.8 percent, according to Coinbase.com. Ethereum had been off more than 5 percent earlier Sunday.
According to Reuters, which reported on the decline of cryptocurrency values earlier in the weekend, a major reason was fear of the potential that higher U.S. capital gains taxes would deter investors who might otherwise buy the currencies.
“But while social media lit up with posts about the plan hurting cryptocurrencies, and individual investors complaining about losses, some traders and analysts said declines are likely to be temporary,” a Reuters article stated. “There has been growing retail and institutional investor acceptance of digital currencies as a legitimate asset class. That has coincided with a surge in online trading in stocks and crypto by retail investors, stuck at home with extra cash because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
CNBC reported that major cryptocurrencies lost $260 billion in value Friday after the Biden administration’s capital gains tax suggestions.
The continued volatility of major cryptocurrencies comes as they have been accepted in a growing number market and by a rising number of enterprises. At the same time, companies working in the space are coming under increased scrutiny of regulators including the federal Securities and Exchange Commission.

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NEW PYMNTS STUDY: SUBSCRIPTION COMMERCE CONVERSION INDEX – APRIL 2021

About The Study: One third of consumers who signed up for subscription services within the past year were just in it for the free trial. In the 2021 Subscription Commerce Conversion Index, PYMNTS surveys 2,022 U.S. consumers and analyzes more than 200 subscription commerce providers to zero in on the key features that turn the “subscription curious” into sticky, long term subscribers.

[…]

Read More…