The US Securities and Exchange Commission is unlikely to grant a request from business groups for a 90-day delay in its consideration of possible hedge fund regulation, sources said on Friday.
A group of lobbying organisations last week asked the SEC to extend the "comment period" for public input on an SEC proposal to require hedge fund advisers to register with the agency and open their books to spot SEC inspections.
The comment period is scheduled to expire in mid-September. Sources close to the commission said it was not inclined to push that deadline back, with a final vote on hedge fund regulation likely to proceed in late September.
The request for the extension was filed jointly by the Managed Funds Association, a hedge funds lobby; the US Chamber of Commerce, the UK-based Alternative Investment Management Association, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association and the Futures Industry Association.
The SEC in July voted 3-2 to propose that hedge fund advisers for the first time must register with the agency, provide basic information on themselves and open their books to spot SEC inspections.
The vote came amid concern about the key role played by hedge funds in the recent mutual fund share trading scandals, as well as about the hedge fund industry's rapid growth.
There are an estimated 6,000 to 8,000 hedge funds with assets of $850 billion to $1 trillion. The industry opposes the SEC proposal, calling it unnecessary and intrusive.