SEC Head Wants to Ease Rules for Small-Firm Public Offerings (1)

The nation’s top securities regulator is planning to make it easier for small companies to go public by cutting mandatory disclosures and scaling back requirements based on the size of the firm.

Such a move could increase the initial public offering pipeline and revive the roster of listed companies, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins said in prepared remarks for a Tuesday event at the New York Stock Exchange.

The revisions include giving companies an “on-ramp” of at least two years rather than just one to gradually comply with the rules for going public, such as phasing in ...