Jack Casey

Two House Natural Resources Committee panels will hold hearings on Puerto Rico this month to discuss the possibility of energy reform and federal oversight for the ailing commonwealth, according to a committee spokesperson.

Municipal market groups are ready to band together in 2016 to show the Securities and Exchange Commission that they can improve disclosure practices without increased regulation, even as the commission is set to continue publishing settlements with underwriters and issuers who have failed to comply with their continuing disclosure obligations.

Puerto Rico Gov. Alejandro García Padilla announced on Wednesday that the commonwealth will default on $37.3 million out of nearly $1 billion of debt payments due on Jan. 4, a “mild” default, according to one analyst, and one that could threaten the governor’s plans congressional help.

Municipal market participants will once again see an active year for enforcement in 2016 as the Securities and Exchange Commission's self-reporting initiative largely wraps up and the enforcement division mixes a continued focus on pricing and market structure actions with potential new areas for enforcement like municipal advisors and bank loans.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., made a final pitch on Thursday for lawmakers to include provisions to help Puerto Rico with its debt crisis in the pending omnibus spending bill, calling it “the moral thing to do.”

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said on Wednesday night that he is instructing all House committees that have jurisdiction over Puerto Rico to work with commonwealth officials to come up with a “responsible solution” for their fiscal and debt crises by the end of March.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board filed proposed rule changes with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday to extend its political contributions rule to non-dealer municipal advisors and MAs soliciting business for dealers, advisors or investment advisors.

The omnibus spending bill for fiscal 2016 fails to contain any significant help for Puerto Rico, but that should come as no surprise as Republicans and Democrats are still divided over the approach that should be taken, said knowledgeable sources.

Assured Guaranty’s chief executive officer is blasting the Treasury Department for pushing for bankruptcy protection for Puerto Rico, claiming the effort is blowing up utility authority negotiations with creditors and bondholders, as well as hurting the territory and alarming the municipal bond market.

Dealer groups want the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority to adopt the same approach, but one that is less costly and burdensome, for requiring dealers acting as principals to disclose to retail customers the markups and markdowns on muni trades.

Municipal market groups are generally supporting a Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board proposal to speed up settlements of muni transactions to two from three days.

Members of the Government Finance Officers Association raised concerns with the Securities and Exchange Commission's proposed rule changes that would require open-end mutual funds and exchange traded funds to take steps to manage liquidity risks so they could handle redemptions during periods of financial stress.

The Republican chairs of three Senate committees that have jurisdiction over Puerto Rico and bankruptcy introduced a bill on Wednesday night that would establish an authority that could issue bonds and provide up $3 billion in resources to help Puerto Rico stabilize its budget and debt.

Fifteen organizations are urging members of the House of Representatives to vote on a proposed bill that would treat investment grade and actively traded municipal securities as high quality liquid assets under a bank liquidity rule adopted by bank regulators in September of last year.

The Supreme Court has agreed to take up Puerto Rico's appeal of a lower court ruling that the commonwealth's local restructuring law is not allowable under federal bankruptcy law.

Two dealer groups are urging the Securities and Exchange Commission to disapprove the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s proposed municipal advisor core conduct rule, despite an amendment that would provide an exception to the rule’s controversial principal transaction ban.

Bond Dealers of America plans to move its offices to K Street here on Dec. 7 to have more space in which to grow and to continue to enhance its lobbying efforts.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board on Monday announced seven members of an investor advisory group designed to give its board of directors additional expertise on investor protection issues.

Puerto Rico Gov. Alejandro García Padilla, who will soon decide whether the commonwealth will default on a debt service payment, and Pedro Pierluisi, the territory's representative in Congress, will headline a Senate committee hearing on Tuesday to address the commonwealth's fiscal and debt crisis, as well as possible fixes.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board is working with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Investor Advocate to identify areas in the muni market that could hurt retail investors.