SEC, On Yıllarda İlk Kez Transfer Ajanı Kurallarını Yeniden Gözden Geçirmeyi Önerdi

ABD Menkul Kıymetler ve Borsa Komisyonu, 1 Eylül 2026 tarihinde önerdi kayıtlı transfer ajanlarına uygulanan kuralları ve formları güncellemeyi, bu ajanların ihraççıların menkul kıymet sahipliği resmi kayıtlarını tutması ve ulusal teminat ve takas sisteminde transferleri işlemesi. Komisyonun transfer ajanı kuralları, ilk kuralların 1970’lerin sonları ve 1980’lerin başında kabul edilmesinden bu yana esasen güncellenmedi. Öneri, kayıt ve yıllık raporlama formlarını değiştirmeyi, işleme, kayıt tutma ve koruma kurallarını modernize etmeyi, mevcut bir kuralı yürürlükten kaldırmayı ve uyum programları ile kısıtlayıcı dipnotları kapsayan iki yeni kural getirmeyi içeriyor.

Transfer ajanları, 1934 Menkul Kıymetler Borsası Yasası’nın 3(a)(25) Bölümü’nde tanımlanan yasal görevleri yerine getirir; bunlar arasında menkul kıymetlerin ihraçta imzalanması, yetkisiz ihraçları önlemek amacıyla ihraçların izlenmesi, menkul kıymet transferlerinin kaydedilmesi, menkul kıymetlerin takası veya dönüştürülmesi ve muhasebe kaydıyla menkul kıymetlerin kayıtlı sahipliğinin devredilmesi yer alır. Nitelikli bir menkul kıymet için bu görevleri yerine getiren her kişi, Borsa Yasası’nın 17A(c)(1) Bölümü uyarınca Komisyon ya da başka bir uygun düzenleyici kurumda kayıtlı olmalıdır.

“Bu öneri, transfer ajanlarının mevcut süreçlerini ve operasyonlarını yansıtmak için Komisyonun kurallarını sadeleştirecek ve modernize edecek; bu kapsamda menkul kıymet teklifleri ve hisse transferlerinde elektronik iletişim ve blokzincir teknolojisinin kullanımını da içerecek,” dedi SEC Başkanı Paul S. Atkins.

“Teknoloji değiştikçe ve rekabetçi pazar evrim geçirdikçe, iyi bir yönetim, eski kurallar ve düzenlemeleri yeniden gözden geçirmeyi gerektirir,” dedi SEC’in Ticaret ve Piyasalar Bölümü Direktörü Jamie Selway. Selway, bu öneriyi Başkan Atkins’ın ajansın düzenleyici çerçevesini ilerletme çabalarındaki bir adım daha olarak tanımladı.

The proposing release states that transfer agents are increasingly operating with tokenized securities, artificial intelligence, and other forms of digital infrastructure, and that market participants are actively seeking to bring blockchain-native, or “onchain,” transfer agents into the U.S. market. According to the release, the current transfer agent rules are silent with respect to information security, cybersecurity, disaster recovery, and operational risk, and no Commission rules specify transfer agents’ obligations in connection with removing restrictive legends on securities.

Mevcut Kurallar ve Formlarda Önerilen Değişiklikler

Under proposed amendments to Rule 17ac2-1, a transfer agent’s registration would become effective 45 days after the filing of Form TA-1, or any amendment to a pending application, rather than the 30 days the existing rule specifies. The Commission said 30 days is often insufficient to determine whether to accelerate, deny, or postpone a registration application.

Proposed amendments to Rule 17ac2-2 would require a transfer agent that discovers information reported on a previously filed Form TA-2 was materially inaccurate, misleading, or incomplete at the time of filing to correct it by filing an amendment within 60 days of the discovery. The existing rule permits, but does not require, such corrections and specifies no time period for them.

Form TA-1 would gain new questions requiring disclosure of the registrant’s website address, any other SEC registrations, any other federal, state, or foreign registrations, and any control affiliates together with their registrations. Registrants would also attach an organizational diagram depicting the relationship between the transfer agent and its control affiliates. The form would add checkboxes for limited liability companies and trusts, remove two existing questions on service company arrangements as duplicative of Form TA-2 reporting, and update instructions defining the control persons who must be disclosed, including, for corporate registrants, each direct or indirect beneficial owner of 5% or more of any class of the registrant’s equity securities, with a person presumed to be a control person at 25% or more of voting securities or profits.

According to the Commission’s fact sheet, the proposal would also modernize the definitions in Rules 17ad-1 and 17ad-9 to reflect contemporary electronic recordkeeping and communications technology. Rules 17ad-2 and 17ad-3 would be amended to require written policies and procedures reasonably designed to ensure timely turnaround and processing, to align turnaround with the current settlement cycle, and to increase the threshold for the imposition of limitations on expansion from 75% to 95%. Rules 17ad-6 and 17ad-7 would establish a single retention period for most transfer agent records and modernize provisions governing electronic systems and third-party recordkeeping. Rule 17ad-10’s posting timeframe would be aligned with the modern settlement cycle using technology-neutral terms. Rule 17ad-12 would be reframed as a comprehensive risk management rule requiring written policies and procedures to protect securities and funds, identify and mitigate material risks, maintain a separate bank account for issuer, securityholder, and third-party funds, and establish a business continuity plan. Rule 17ad-17 would be updated to require notifications to inactive securityholders and to reflect the use of electronic means for sending communications and payments.

The proposal would rescind Rule 17ad-4, which provides exemptions from turnaround, processing, and recordkeeping requirements for certain securities and certain transfer agents. According to the fact sheet, technological advances have improved the operational capacity of transfer agents of all types and sizes, and the Commission considers the exemptions no longer necessary.

Yeni Uyumluluk ve Kısıtlayıcı Dipnot Kuralları

Proposed Rule 17ad-30 would require registered transfer agents to establish, maintain, and enforce written policies and procedures reasonably designed to achieve compliance with the federal securities laws and rules applicable to transfer agents. Proposed Rule 17ad-31 would establish requirements for the placement and removal of restrictive legends from securities and would require registered transfer agents to refrain from facilitating unregistered securities transactions unless they have a reasonable basis to believe that a transaction does not violate, or is not part of a chain of transactions that would violate, Section 5(a) of the Securities Act of 1933.

The Commission adopted Rules 17ad-1 through 17ad-7 on 16 Haziran 1977, and Rules 17ad-9 through 17ad-13 on 10 Haziran 1983. Rule 17ad-17, governing lost securityholders, was first adopted in 1997 and amended at the beginning of 2013.

The proposing release is published on SEC.gov and will be published in the Federal Register. The public comment period will remain open for 60 days after the date of publication in the Federal Register. Comments may be submitted through the Commission’s internet comment form or by email to [email protected] and should reference File Number S7-2026-30.