Press Release: CBD Applauds SEC for Prioritizing Main Street Investment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                             

DATE: January 7, 2021                   

Contact: press@coalitionforbusinessdevelopment.com

CBD Applauds SEC for Prioritizing Main Street Investment  

No-action guidance from SEC will enable BDCs to continue providing financial support to businesses seeking capital amidst ongoing COVID-19 pandemic

WASHINGTON – The Coalition for Business Development (CBD) applauded the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for updated guidance providing no-action relief that enables business development companies (BDCs) to provide additional financial support to Main Street businesses. The guidance, which spans to March 31, offers BDCs critical flexibility when entering follow-on investments with certain affiliates.

“We appreciate the SEC’s ongoing commitment to working with the BDC industry as we navigate the nation’s economic and public health crises,” said David Cohen, Executive Director of the Coalition for Business Development. “The ability to provide capital to Main Street businesses so they can hire, grow, and rebuild is among the most important issues facing our country today. We thank the SEC for its leadership on this matter and look forward to continuing to work closely with them in the weeks and months ahead.” 

As originally written, the temporary exemptive order gave BDCs the ability to participate in certain joint enterprises or other co-investment arrangements and to issue and sell senior securities under alternative regulatory framework. The order was first put in place in April 2020 in response to the immediate need created by the COVID-19 pandemic. The SEC’s updated guidance provides no-action relief through March 31, 2021. The updated guidance was made public by the SEC on Tuesday.

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CBD is a member-driven, Washington-based trade association that advocates exclusively on behalf of BDCs to expand their ability to provide necessary growth capital to small- and middle-market Main Street businesses so they can expand, invest, and create jobs.