SEC CHAIR WHITE'S REMARKS AT MEETING OF SEC ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON SMALL AND EMERGING COMPANIES

FROM:  U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
PUBLIC STATEMENT
Opening Remarks at Meeting of SEC Advisory Committee on Small and Emerging Companies
SEC Chair Mary Jo White
March 4, 2015

Good morning.  Thank you all for being here.  I will be very brief so that you can get to the business at hand.

I, too, would like to welcome Michael Pieciak who will be serving as the committee’s observer representative from NASAA.  Mike is the Deputy Commissioner of the Vermont Securities Division, and I am very pleased he is here on behalf of the state securities regulators to bring that knowledgeable and important voice to your discussions.

Today’s agenda addresses several important topics, including Regulation A+, secondary market liquidity, and recommendations regarding the definition of accredited investor, all of which are quite timely topics for the Commission’s ongoing work in these areas.  As you know, our Regulation A+ and crowdfunding rulemakings are designed to facilitate smaller companies’ ability to access capital and to provide investors with additional investment opportunities.  In making investment decisions, investors may naturally consider whether they will have the ability to resell their shares in the future; there is no doubt that secondary market liquidity is an important factor impacting the availability of capital for small businesses as well as investor protection.

SEC staff in the Divisions of Corporation Finance and Trading and Markets have been looking at various means to facilitate the secondary market trading of securities issued by small businesses.  Among a number of other possible avenues, the staff is considering whether the development of appropriately structured venture exchanges could provide more liquidity for the securities of smaller companies. Some earlier exchanges have not been successful; the reasons for that need to be carefully studied along with other issues.  Smaller companies are important to our economy, and it is important to support appropriately a market structure that promotes the capital formation of smaller companies, while also providing robust investor protections.

More generally, as I have emphasized on several occasions, one market structure may not fit all and that the Commission must concretely focus on how to enhance the market structure for smaller companies.  I look forward to perspectives and ideas from your committee on what obstacles and possible solutions you see to the development of secondary market liquidity venues for privately-issued securities.

As promised, I will stop to let you get down to business.  As always, we very much appreciate your expertise and efforts.  Facilitating small business capital formation is a priority we all share.  It is our job, with your help, to convert the supportive words into workable and effective actions.

Thank you.

EXPORT-IMPORT BANK TOUTS SUCCESS REGARDING "GATEKEEPER SECURITY"

FROM:  U.S. EXPORT-IMPORT BANK 
Export-Import Bank Success: Gatekeeper Security
Small Business Doubles Growth With Liquidity and Risk Protection from Ex-Im Bank 

Washington, D.C. – Gatekeeper Security, a small technology firm in Sterling, Va., has doubled its year-over-year growth since 2010 when the company began using two financing tools of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank): export-credit insurance and Global Credit Express, the Bank’s direct loan for small businesses.

Using Ex-Im’s small-business products, Gatekeeper has increased exports of its under-vehicle security systems to achieve more than $10 million in total sales. Ninety-five percent of its products are exported to the Middle East, Asia and Latin America. The company’s equipment is now found in 28 countries, including Mexico, Vietnam, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Turkey, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

“Small businesses need liquidity and risk protection to grow through exporting,” said Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg. “We developed Global Credit Express to provide exporters with working capital loans under $500,000, which usually aren’t available from commercial lenders. Ex-Im Bank can fill that lending gap, and we want more small businesses to experience the kind of growth that Gatekeeper has achieved.”

“Ex-Im’s credit insurance policy has allowed us to use the credit standing of Ex-Im Bank to guarantee bank letters of credit issued by foreign banks to fund pre-shipment financing. And now with the Global Credit Express facility, we have a further means to fund the materials and labor costs required to meet foreign orders,” said Gatekeeper Security CEO Christopher Millar.

Gatekeeper Security develops and deploys advanced screening technology to enable its customers to search under vehicles from a safe distance. Gatekeeper’s automatic under-vehicle inspection systems are designed to provide a first line of defense against threats to ground transportation and are integrated with other entry-point control technologies. The company has 12 employees in Sterling and 10 additional employees based in Dubai and Mexico.