Kyle Glazier

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking board is accepting applications from individuals knowledgeable about the muni market who want to join the self-regulator's board of directors.

Market participants can expect increased municipal securities enforcement during 2015, a year that may bring resolution of the Securities and Exchange Commission's self-reporting initiative as well as greater emphasis on individual liability and secondary market disclosures.

A lawsuit challenging the Securities and Exchange Commission's investment adviser pay-to-play rule is moving forward in a D.C. federal appeals court, with implications for muni market pay-to-play restrictions hanging in the balance.

Municipal Market Advisors is now Municipal Market Analytics, the research and analysis firm announced Friday.

This year will bring more municipal advisor and secondary market transparency regulation, while a newly Republican-controlled Senate could lead Congress to scrutinize and possibly ease existing laws and rules.

Former Miami, Fla. budget director Michael Boudreaux is appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court after a federal appeals court decided not to reconsider its decision to disqualify his immunity from a Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit.

Buena Vista, Va., will stop making payments on a golf course bond issue that its officials say has become an albatross around the small city's finances.

Credit rating agencies have made strides in implementing mandatory reforms, the SEC said in recent reports that found the raters also need to improve in several areas, including the way they handle conflicts of interest.

Municipal bond groups are seeking federal appeals court guidance in a ratepayer appeal of part of Jefferson County, Ala.'s Chapter 9 bankruptcy plan, saying the district court decision allowing a challenge of the plan threatens to undermine market stability.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has named former Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board general counsel Gary Goldsholle as a deputy director in its Division of Trading and Markets.

The National Association of Municipal Advisors is urging the Securities and Exchange Commission to create exemptions from broker-dealer and investment adviser registration for MA firms engaged in activities understood to be normal municipal advisory services.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has fined two firms a total of $7,500 for violations of Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board rules, FINRA said in its monthly disciplinary report Monday.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has received many comments on its rule 15c2-12, but is able to respond on only a limited basis because the request for comment is limited in scope, members of the commission's muni office told issuers Thursday.

Offering document misstatements related to continuing disclosure violations has been widespread and upcoming enforcement actions will provide guidance on the Securities and Exchange Commission's views, the SEC's muni enforcement chief told issuers Thursday.

Dealers said the MSRB's proposal to extend gifts and gratuities regulation to municipal advisors should be reworked to establish uniform recordkeeping requirements for both dealer and non-dealer firms, while a major non-dealer firm said the proposal should be an opportunity to fix a gap in the existing rule.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's proposal to require muni dealers to seek the most favorable price possible when executing transactions for most investors.

The city of Harvey, Ill., has agreed to settle Securities and Exchange Commission charges that it misled bond investors by diverting proceeds away from the projects for which they were intended.

The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association is seeking a legislative fix to the municipal advisor rule so that it is less burdensome for bank and broker-dealer firms, executives of a broker-dealer group said Thursday.

Securities and Exchange Commission member Daniel Gallagher wants more action on pension accounting and more staff devoted to the municipal market.

Many issuers were expected to spend Monday scrambling to finish their submissions to meet a Dec. 1 deadline for the Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation initiative.