OTC Markets Blog

ESOPs: The Importance of Small Company Employee Ownership

Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) allow employees to participate in the economic performance of a company, share in corporate profits, and save for retirement. Congress has long recognized the advantages of employee ownership by authorizing and encouraging ESOPs through favorable tax treatment.

However, current IRS regulations significantly restrict the ability of many small public companies not traded on a national securities exchange to offer ESOPs to their employees. These outdated regulations negatively impact hundreds of qualified, U.S.-based companies on the OTCQX and OTCQB markets that collectively employ over 100,000 workers. Continue reading “ESOPs: The Importance of Small Company Employee Ownership” →

August 15, 2019 0

2019 Mid Year Review

In 2019, we welcomed nearly 200 companies to our OTCQX and OTCQB Markets, moved into new offices in New York and London, and launched our Virtual Investor Conference platform. As we look ahead to the rest of the year, we review key milestones in our ongoing mission to provide companies with more efficient solutions to better engage and inform investors. Continue reading “2019 Mid Year Review” →

July 30, 2019 0

Blue Sky Recognition Continues to Gain Traction

OTC Markets Group Garners Blue Sky Exemptions in 35 States

Since May 2016, we have fostered an active dialogue with constituents at the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) and individual state regulators with the goal of providing investors, companies, brokers and other market participants with a defined regulatory structure that recognizes the transparent current disclosure provided by OTCQX and OTCQB companies. We appreciate the hard work and diligence of NASAA members as we work to achieve important exemptions for our OTCQX and OTCQB markets under state Blue Sky laws governing secondary trading. Continue reading “Blue Sky Recognition Continues to Gain Traction” →

July 11, 2019 0

Regulation A 2019 Progress Report

Born out of the 2012 JOBS Act, Regulation A (Reg A) was amended to provide a streamlined pathway for companies to raise up to $50 Million while benefiting from general solicitation, ‘testing the waters’ and state Blue Sky preemption. SEC reporting companies were originally excluded from using Reg A; however, in January 2019, the SEC adopted new rules to expand Reg A to SEC-reporting companies, enabling public companies to raise capital in a similar manner to a traditional IPO via an S-1 registration or an S-3 shelf registration. Continue reading “Regulation A 2019 Progress Report” →

June 18, 2019 0

A Conversation with Qaravan Founder Tony Hodson

OTC Markets Group recently announced the acquisition of Qaravan^SM Inc., a leading provider of innovative software and risk & performance analytics tailored to the banking industry.

We sat down with Tony Hodson, now the Senior Vice President of Market Data at OTC Markets Group, to learn more about how bank data and analytics have evolved over time. Continue reading “A Conversation with Qaravan Founder Tony Hodson” →

June 11, 2019 0

Practice Corporate Governance to Help Achieve Your Company Goals

Although more commonly associated with larger firms, corporate governance is just as important for small and micro-cap companies.

By adhering to high governance standards, small-caps are better placed to achieve their goals and attract new investment. Continue reading “Practice Corporate Governance to Help Achieve Your Company Goals” →

June 6, 2019 0

CECL: Unpaved Road Ahead

The Genesis/Birth of CECL

After the 2008 financial crisis, much of the focus on the regulation of financial institutions shifted to mitigating systemic risk. This included an increased focus on stress testing and the recapitalization of institutions—both intended to help ensure solvency and insulate the global economy from further erosion. Continue reading “CECL: Unpaved Road Ahead” →

June 3, 2019 0

May Marks the 5th Anniversary of OTCQX Banks

This month we’re pleased to celebrate the 5-year anniversary of the successful launch of OTCQX for Banks. In May 2014, and with ten founding member banks at inception, OTCQX Banks was created to provide U.S. regional and community banks the opportunity to communicate their value proposition through a more cost-effective alternative. OTCQX Banks’ comprise some of the most established institutions, leveraging the OTCQX Market to provide the benefit of the public markets to their investors without the cost and complexity associated with trading on a traditional exchange. Continue reading “May Marks the 5th Anniversary of OTCQX Banks” →

May 23, 2019 0

Three Principles for Thriving Public Markets

Oscar Wilde once wrote that “Everything popular is wrong.” He was describing our natural tendency to find comfort with well-established people and widespread ideas. Regulators, faced with the opportunity to open markets to alternative choices, hear a chorus of respected voices resistant to change. The SEC took until the year 2000 to repeal Rule 390—the rule that gave the New York Stock Exchange a monopoly in trading Blue Chip securities. The principles of open, transparent and connected public markets prevailed.

We raise this as the old idea underlying Rule 390, centralization of trading, is now being pushed as a popular fix for small company liquidity and capital formation. Of course, individual traders are determined to make trades in many different places, which means government intervention would be required to force stock trading back onto the largest stock exchanges[1]. Rent-seeking regulations are often cloaked in the language of “reform” and the public good.

Continue reading “Three Principles for Thriving Public Markets” →

May 14, 2019 0