On July 21, 2010, U.S. President Barack Obama signed into law the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank). Intended as a response to the financial crisis of 2008, this legislation is both fundamentally changing the regulatory landscape for the financial services industry and reforming numerous areas of U.S. securities regulation that impact U.S. public companies in general. Certain provisions of Dodd-Frank apply to foreign private issuers as of its enactment, while other provisions either do not apply or may apply at a later date subject to rulemaking by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC). Key impacts of Dodd-Frank on foreign companies are highlighted below and described in greater detail later in this client advisory.

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