On January 6, 2012, the Division of Corporation Finance of the US Securities and Exchange Commission published guidance setting out the division's views regarding disclosure of financial institutions' direct and indirect exposures to the debt of certain European countries. The Division of Corporation Finance's guidance, which is aimed at improving the clarity and comparability of disclosures, seeks to help all registrants determine what information they should consider disclosing in respect of their exposure to the ongoing European sovereign debt crisis.