Overview

• Chair Paul S. Atkins recommended that the Commission issue a Policy Statement on mandatory arbitration clauses in corporate governance documents and their effect on accelerating registration statements.
• The statement defines a mandatory arbitration provision as one requiring investors to arbitrate federal securities‑law claims with the issuer.
• Atkins said the Policy Statement concludes such provisions are not inconsistent with the federal securities laws, framing permissibility and corporate adoption as distinct questions.
• He emphasized that the analysis intersects federal securities law, state corporate law, and the Federal Arbitration Act, and that the SEC is opining only on federal‑law consistency.
• Coverage notes related consideration of amendments to Rule 431 on acceleration decisions and reports contrasting commissioner views, while also stressing that Atkins’s remarks may not reflect the full Commission or staff.