WASHINGTON — The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board announced Monday that it has hired David H. Saltiel as chief economist and is also recruiting someone else to lead to a market structure department that it is creating.
Saltiel will join the MSRB Sept. 2, and will lead the board's economic analysis of rulemaking and market transparency initiatives, the MSRB said in a release.
He is currently chief financial economist and director of data management, reporting and analysis at the U.S. Treasury Department's Bureau of Fiscal Service. He is also acting deputy assistant commissioner for debt management.
Saltiel holds a bachelor's degree in political science from Williams College in Massachusetts, and a master's degree in economics from the University of Oxford. Before joining the Treasury, Saltiel served in advisory roles for both public and private entities, including the Department of Energy.
The MSRB announced last fall that it was formally adopting an economic analysis policy. The board said at that time that it may vote to undertake rulemaking without an economic analysis, so long as it states a reason for not doing one and provides to the Securities and Exchange Commission a statement of what costs and benefits could be expected "based on the board's expertise."
The SEC, which has oversight over the MSRB, has emphasized economic analysis in recent years in the wake of multiple lawsuits challenging the basis for some of its regulations.
The MSRB also announced other hirings for its market structure team. Michael Kobs is now senior advisor for municipal market structure and Barbara Voute' has been hired to serve as municipal operations advisor. They join existing MSRB employees Marcelo Vieira, director of research, and Justin Pica, director of product management for market transparency, on the newly formed market structure team. Kobs was previously president of consulting firm Muni Analytics LLC, while Voute' served as vice president and fixed income business unit manager at Raymond James & Associates, Inc.
"These changes make clear our commitment to ensuring that all regulatory and transparency initiatives undertaken by the MSRB are conducted with the utmost of rigor and supported by the necessary market and technical expertise," said MSRB executive director Lynnette Kelly. "The market structure group will incorporate key existing staff as well as new hires to create an extremely talented team of individuals." Kelly said the market structure department will work collaboratively across the organization regarding the execution of market structure initiatives.
The MSRB also announced Monday that it is launching an online education center next week. The new education center "consolidates and reorganizes educational videos, fact sheets and resources previously available in various sections of the MSRB website" and EMMA, according to a release from the board.
