Andrew Ackerman

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has fined Goldman, Sachs & Co. $650,000 for failing to disclose that two of its registered representatives, including Fabrice Tourre, received “Wells Notices” from the Securities and Exchange ­Commission.

WASHINGTON — Industry groups are urging the Securities and Exchange Commission to reject a proposal from the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board to provide it with an additional $17 million in revenue annually by nearly doubling the amount of transaction fees it collects from dealers.

WASHINGTON — Industry groups are urging the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board to abandon a proposal to alter its Rule G-37 that would require municipal securities dealers to disclose the names of political action committees controlled by bank holding companies or other affiliates.

Securities and Exchange Commission member Elisse Walter wants Congress to do away with the exemptions for municipal debt in the federal securities laws, but probably would not want the SEC to collect bond documents from issuers prior to issuance, according to bond attorneys familiar with the matter.

WASHINGTON — The Republican takeover of the House could result in an entirely different perspective on municipal market regulation, if Alabama Republican Spencer Bachus, who has called for greater federal oversight of muni issuers, takes over as chairman of the Financial Services Committee as expected.

WASHINGTON — Municipal borrowers are much slower than corporations to complete annual audited financial reports, confirming many analysts’ claims that muni issuers’ annual financial disclosures are often stale, a new report shows.

WASHINGTON — The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission the first batch of proposals to extend to municipal advisers its rules on fair-dealing, disciplinary actions and administrative requirements.

SAN ANTONIO — Issuers that want to avoid disclosure mishaps — and possible federal enforcement action — should develop and closely follow policies as well as procedures that lay out who must review and sign off on their disclosure documents, Securities and Exchange Commission officials are stressing.

SAN ANTONIO — “Numerous” municipal market participants have queried the ­Securities and Exchange Commission about bringing muni bond ­abuses to its attention under a new ­congressionally mandated program that provides incentives for whistle-blowers, a top SEC enforcement attorney told bond ­attorneys gathered here Thursday.

SAN ANTONIO — The Securities and Exchange Commission has postponed the municipal securities field hearing it planned to hold in Chicago on Nov. 16.

WASHINGTON — Four former San Diego officials have agreed to pay civil penalties totaling $80,000 to settle charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission that they were negligent in misleading investors about the city’s pension and retiree health care liabilities.

WASHINGTON — The National Association of Bond ­Lawyers’ new president as of Wednesday night, John ­McNally, appears to be the right man at the right place and the right time, according to the group’s members.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board on Tuesday filed a proposal with the Securities and Exchange Commission to revise the Municipal Securities Representative Qualification Examination known as the Series 52.

WASHINGTON — The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board plans to soon file rule changes with the Securities and Exchange Commission that would eliminate the current practice of allowing a dealer-financial adviser to resign as FA and then underwrite the same muni securities transaction.

WASHINGTON — The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board plans to soon file rule changes with the Securities and Exchange Commission to eliminate the current practice of allowing a dealer-financial adviser to resign and then underwrite the same transaction.

WASHINGTON — Market participants are pushing back against attempts by Standard & Poor’s to rate municipal bond deals on the condition that the issuer agrees to accept both greater liability if the rating turns out to be faulty and an ongoing obligation to inform it of any material change to any information provided to the agency.

WASHINGTON — Moving money market funds to a floating net-asset value would “help remove the perception” that MMF’s are risk-free and reduce investor incentives to flee distressed funds, but might be difficult to accomplish and lead to unintended consequences, the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets said in a report released Thursday.

WASHINGTON — As the majority-public Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board formally meets for the first time Wednesday through the end of the week, market participants are questioning whether some of its public representatives are really independent from regulated dealers and advisers.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has fined four firms a total of $62,000 for errors in the reporting of municipal securities transactions, including $25,000 against Goldman, Sachs & Co., the self-regulator announced in monthly disciplinary decisions released Friday.

WASHINGTON - Retail sales increased 0.6% in September, their third consecutive monthly gain, the Commerce Department reported this morning.