SEC Proposes Rules Requiring Listing Standards for Compensation Committees and Compensation Consultants

On March 30th the Securities and Exchange Commission (?Ç£SEC?Ç¥) voted unanimously to propose rules directing the national securities exchanges to adopt certain listing standards related to the compensation committee of a company?ÇÖs board of directors as well as its compensation advisers, as required by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The proposed rules would require U.S. stock exchanges to impose new standards to ensure that board compensation committee members and their outside advisors are independent. The proposed rules also provide relevant factors to help boards evaluate the independence of a compensation advisor before hiring and requires companies to disclose conflicts of interest that may arise with advisors. The SEC requests public comments on the rule proposal by April 29, 2011. The proposed rules can be found here here.