On November 2, 2011, the House of Representatives (the “House”) overwhelmingly approved the Small Company Capital Formation Act of 2011, as amended (the “Small Company Capital Formation Act”) by a vote of 421 to 1. The Small Company Capital Formation Act increases the offering threshold from $5 million to $50 million for offerings exempt from registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) pursuant to Regulation A. The House also passed legislation that modifies the threshold for registration and deregistration under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 for bank and bank holding companies.

Representative David Schweikert (R-AZ), Vice Chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises and sponsor of the Small Company Capital Formation Act, said: “Small businesses are the backbone of job growth in our country….This bill … will assist them in efficiently raising funds.”