Andrew Ackerman

PHOENIX — The issue of how much information should be disclosed for certain variable-rate demand obligations has put the National Association of Bond Layers at loggerheads with the Securities and Exchange Commission staff for years. The ongoing dispute boiled over once again during NABL’s Bond Attorneys Workshop here this week.

Congress should repeal the Tower Amendment and other securities law exemptions for municipal issuers so that the Securities and Exchange Commission can require them to comply with certain disclosure requirements as well as with generally accepted governmental accounting standards, SEC commissioner Elisse Walter said Wednesday night.

WASHINGTON — The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association is not opposed to legislation that would require the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board to have a majority of public members, but wants Congress to make sure they have financial expertise and that the MSRB has more time for the transition, the new head of its Washington office said last week.

WASHINGTON — As House lawmakers this week vote on a bill that would require a majority of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s members to be public, the new chairman is stressing that the MSRB’s existing dealer-dominated structure has served the market and investors well since its creation in 1975.

WASHINGTON — The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association’s municipal securities division plans to honor Citi’s Frank Chin with its 2009 Honor Roll Award at a luncheon today, in recognition of his significant contributions to SIFMA and the muni industry.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board announced yesterday that it is changing its Real-time Transaction Reporting System to increase the time dealers have to report trades late and make corrections to previously reported trades.

WASHINGTON — Groundbreaking for new U.S. home construction was up 0.5% in September to 590,000, while private housing permits fell 1.2% to 573,000, according to Commerce Department data released yesterday.

WASHINGTON - Groundbreaking for new U.S. home construction was up 0.5% in September to 590,000, while private housing permits fell 1.2% to 573,000, according to Commerce Department data released this morning.

WASHINGTON — The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board plans to soon propose revising its Rule G-37 on political contributions to require municipal securities dealers, their muni professionals, and political action committees to disclose the political contributions they make to bond ballot election campaigns, the board announced yesterday, following its quarterly meeting last week.

WASHINGTON — State and local housing finance agency officials could barely contain their excitement at the Obama administration’s unveiling yesterday of its long-awaited bond purchase and liquidity program.

WASHINGTON - The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board plans to soon propose changes to its Rule G-37 on political contributions that would require dealers to disclose political contributions to bond ballot election campaign committees, the board announced this morning, following its quarterly meeting last week.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board announced Thursday that it has promoted two of its in-house attorneys.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has fined Morgan Stanley $90,000 for buying and selling corporate and municipal bonds at unfair and unreasonable prices.

WASHINGTON — Though legislation that cleared the House Financial Services Committee yesterday would allow any municipality to participate in a derivative transaction as long as its counterparty is regulated, a high-level Treasury Department official said municipalities are still protected because those regulated parties will have to meet comprehensive business-conduct standards.

WASHINGTON — Michael Decker plans to rejoin the Securities and Industry Financial Markets Association next month after leaving the Regional Bond Dealers Association, a group he helped launch and co-lead in March 2008, both groups announced yesterday.

WASHINGTON — U.S. September retail sales posted a better-than-expected 1.5% decrease to $344.7 billion, on a seasonally adjusted basis, while excluding automobiles, retail sales rose 0.5% to $288.5 billion, the Commerce Department reported yesterday.

WASHINGTON – Michael Decker plans to leave the Regional Bond Dealers Association, the 20-month-old startup group he helped launch and co-lead, to rejoin the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, the RBDA announced today.

WASHINGTON - U.S. September retail sales posted a better-than-expected 1.5% decrease to $344.7 billion, on a seasonally adjusted basis, while excluding automobiles, retail sales rose 0.5% to $288.5 billion, the Commerce Department reported this morning.

PHILADELPHIA — The Securities and Exchange Commission cannot set up a corporate-style disclosure regime for the municipal market under its rules because it does not have the statutory authority to do so, the SEC’s muni chief told financial advisers here yesterday.

WASHINGTON — A Securities and Exchange Commission official asked a congressional committee yesterday to strengthen its draft bill to regulate over-the-counter derivatives so that all securities-based swaps are treated as securities. However, the request was met by resistance from the panel’s chairman and another regulator.