This communication constitutes the next installment of our Client Alert series considering the legal and business impacts of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (“COVID-19”), commonly referred to as the “Coronavirus.” This communication focuses on the implications of the Coronavirus upon regulatory and corporate governance issues, particularly with respect to entities subject to the jurisdiction of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”).
I. SEC and CFTC Statements on the Coronavirus
With the spread of the Coronavirus comes the specter of disrupted markets, volatile trading activity, and regulatory and governance implications extending far beyond the recent market corrections attributable to the epidemic. Both the SEC and the CFTC have issued statements on the Coronavirus; the SEC has instructed agency personnel to “monitor” and “provide guidance and other assistance to” market participants and issuers in connection with their disclosures related to the current and potential future effects of the Coronavirus, urging issuers to work together with their auditors and audit committees to “ensure that…
