the new york stock exchange nyse stands in the financial district in manhattan on january 28 2021 in new york city the us securities regulator has opened an inquiry into wall streets blank check acquisition frenzy and is seeking information on how underwriters are managing the risks involved said four people with direct knowledge of the matter the us securities and exchange commission sec in recent days sent letters to wall street banks seeking information on their special purpose acquisition company or spac dealings the four people said spacs are listed shell companies that raise funds to acquire a private company with the purpose of taking it public allowing such targets to sidestep a traditional initial public offering the sec letters asked the banks to provide the information voluntarily and as such did not rise to the level of a formal investigative demand two of the sources said however one of those two people said letters were sent by the secs enforcement division suggesting they may be a precursor to a formal investigation this person said the sec wanted information on spac deal fees volumes and what controls banks have in place to police the deals internally the second above source said the sec asked questions relating to compliance reporting and internal controls representatives for the sec did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside us business hours