SEC Enforcement Targets May Get Leeway Over Virus, Peikin Says (Corrected)

Firms under investigation by the SEC may be given some leeway on deadlines due to the coronavirus outbreak, one of the agency’s top enforcement officials said.

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Enforcement Division will try to be “flexible” with firms that may seek more time to comply with its directives if the virus is affecting them, office Co-Director Steven Peikin said Friday.

His remarks at an Investment Adviser Association conference in Washington came after the SEC announced March 4 it would give companies extra time to meet their filing deadlines for public disclosures.

“We’re in uncharted territory here,” he said. ...