Question: Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act suspends automatically its application to any company that would be subject to the filing requirements of that section where, if other conditions are met, on the first day of the company's fiscal year it has fewer than 300 holders of record of the class of securities that created the Section 15(d) obligation. This suspension, which relates to the fiscal year in which the fewer than 300 record holders determination is made on the first day thereof, is automatic and does not require any filing with the Commission. The Commission adopted Rule 15d-6 under the Exchange Act to require the filing of a Form 15 as a notice of the suspension of a company's reporting obligation under Section 15(d). Such a filing, however, is not a condition to the suspension. A number of companies whose Section 15(d) reporting obligation is suspended automatically by the statute choose not to file the notice required by Rule 15d-6 and continue to file Exchange Act reports as though they continue to be required. Must a company whose reporting obligation is suspended automatically by Section 15(d) but continues to file periodic reports as though it were required to file periodic reports comply with Regulation G and the requirements of Item 10(e) of Regulation S-K?

Answer: Yes. Regulation S-K relates to filings with the Commission. Accordingly, a company that is making filings as described in this question must comply with Regulation S-K or Form 20-F, as applicable, in its filings.

As to other public communications, any company "that has a class of securities registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or is required to file reports under Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934" must comply with Regulation G. The application of this standard to those companies that no longer are "required" to report under Section 15(d) but choose to continue to report presents a difficult dilemma, as those companies technically are not subject to Regulation G but their continued filing is intended to and does give the appearance that they are a public company whose disclosure is subject to the Commission's regulations. It is reasonable that this appearance would cause shareholders and other market participants to expect and rely on a company's required compliance with the requirements of the federal securities laws applicable to companies reporting under Section 15(d). Accordingly, while Regulation G technically does not apply to a company such as the one described in this question, the failure of such a company to comply with all requirements (including Regulation G) applicable to a Section 15(d)-reporting company can raise significant issues regarding that company's compliance with the anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities laws. [Jan. 11, 2010]