Jonathan Hemmerdinger

The Bond Dealers of America has urged federal agencies to issue guidance clarifying how obligations of municipal market participants will change if federal regulators fail to finish writing the controversial Volcker Rule by the July 21 deadline — an outcome officials have warned is possible.

WASHINGTON — A trend towards more detailed regulation of muni markets by the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board could have negative, long-term consequences on market participants, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association warned the board in a recent letter.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board on Monday asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to approve proposed rule changes that would allow individual investors to qualify as "sophisticated municipal market professionals," for whom broker-dealers would be exempt from having to meet certain requirements.

A bipartisan group of senators introduced a bill that would delay implementation of the controversial Volcker Rule, a provision in the Dodd-Frank Act that muni market participants have warned could divide the market and increase costs for issuers.

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday approved a proposal by the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board to make yields for interdealer trades available on EMMA beginning April 30.

The Securities and Exchange Commission issued a risk alert warning that some underwriters do not have adequate written evidence to show they properly assess the financial condition of state and local governments before selling bonds to investors.

A former Securities and Exchange Commission member and other speakers at a conference expressed frustration with the progress of pending municipal market regulations, including measures to regulate independent and other municipal advisors.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ordered four firms and one individual to pay a total of $187,296 in fines and restitution to investors for violations of municipal market rules.

The MSRB proposed a rule change that would limit dealers from using the term "NRO," or "not reoffered," in written communications about new muni securities, a move aimed at ensuring market participants will have accurate and timely price and yield information.

WASHINGTON — Bond lawyers and issuers are urging the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board to withdraw or revise guidance that warns underwriters against consenting to changes for bonds that could hurt parity bondholders, unless the changes are authorized by bond documents.

SAVANNAH — Federal officials outlined ongoing municipal bond regulatory efforts Thursday and defended a host of initiatives they said are critical to maintain market stability and protect municipal bond issuers and retail investors.

WASHINGTON — The number of municipal securities that traded in 2011 remained largely unchanged from 2010 and the volume of trades of less than $100,000 rose during the period, suggesting that more retail investors may be buying and selling municipal bonds.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board proposed rule changes and interpretive guidance aimed at ensuring that underwriters and dealers comply with an issuer's instructions to sell bonds to retail investors during retail order periods.

The National Federation of Municipal Analysts plans to release a paper outlining possible negative consequences to a California law dissolving some 400 of the state's redevelopment agencies.

Bond Dealers of America announced that former vice chair Larry Bowden has been elected chairman of the group's board and takes over the post Thursday, the first day of its 2012 fiscal year.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board on Tuesday announced it has made some improvements to EMMA, launching end-of-day trade alerts for users, and improving its market statistics.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board wants to talk to third-party vendors to see if they could make certain data products or services available through EMMA to improve transparency for retail investors and other market participants

WASHINGTON — Smartphone users may now have an easier time accessing municipal market data.

The Securities and Exchange Commission approved rule changes that allow the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority to collect fees from its broker-dealer members to help fund the Governmental Accounting Standards Board.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board released a long-range plan to improve transparency in the muni market by collecting a wide range of new information from a variety of sources, integrating that data on the Electronic Municipal Market Access system, and making it available to investors and other market participants in a more user-friendly and searchable format.