Kyle Glazier

A coalition of state and local groups has written a letter to Securities and Exchange Commission member Daniel Gallagher countering his recent comments about pension obligation disclosure and arguing that any problems in the area are individual and not universal.

The Securities and Exchange Commission's investigation of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey must determine if investors needed to know about $1.8 billion of controversial spending, securities law experts said. Others said any SEC enforcement action would not be a fix for the authority's problems.

The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association has sent a letter to numerous federal regulators arguing that the joint venture structure used for the first time last week to sell tender option bonds should be legal under the Volcker rule.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has publicly disclosed that it is under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission and other federal and state authorities for diverting $1.8 billion to pay for New Jersey road repair projects, The Bergen Record reported Thursday evening.

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Thursday sold the first tender option bonds structured to comply with the Volcker Rule, a feat Moody's Investors Service said will benefit the market by allowing TOB trusts to continue purchasing munis.

The Bond Dealers of America is urging the Securities and Exchange Commission to limit the scope of its continuing disclosure violation self-reporting program and the participation deadline by more than three months.

State general fund spending is increasing, although it continues to lag behind historical averages and revenue growth remains small in some states, according to a new report from the National Association of State Budget Officers.

The municipal securities market is "fertile ground" for further enforcement initiatives aimed at getting market participants to comply with their obligations under the law, the Securities and Exchange Commission's enforcement director said Wednesday.

Ernesto “Ernie” Lanza is leaving his position as deputy executive director at the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board to join the Washington office of Greenberg Traurig.

Issuers are disclosing more failures to comply with their continuing disclosure agreements than in past months - a development some market participants said stems from a Securities and Exchange Commission's program encouraging them and their underwriters to self-report instances in which bond documents falsely stated the issuer was in compliance with its CDA.

Securities and Exchange Commission member Daniel Gallagher said Thursday that pension and other post-employment benefit liabilities need to be made more transparent for investors, and argued for a universal "disclosure baseline" that all cities should use.

Two members of Congress are urging federal regulators to reevaluate a proposal to exclude municipal bonds from qualifying as high quality liquid assets under banking rule designed to ensure banks are equipped to handle severe financial and economic stress.

Another broker dealer group is asking the Securities and Exchange Commission to suspend the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's proposal to charge each municipal advisor professional $300 per year, but non-dealer MAs are giving the MSRB's fee structure their support.

Existing home sales rose 1.3% to a seasonally adjusted 4.65 million unit rate in April from an unrevised 4.59 million pace the previous month, the National Association of Realtors announced Thursday.

Securities and Exchange Commission attorney Peter Chan defended the commission's Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation Initiative Wednesday, telling issuer officials not to succumb to fear or confusion about the MCDC one day after the leader of a dealer group blasted the program.

Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association president and chief executive officer Kenneth Bentsen criticized recent efforts by the Securities and Exchange Commission to further regulate the muni market, telling issuer officials on Tuesday that a new rule and initiative could undermine productive relationships between municipalities and underwriters.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has released new information on its municipal advisor rule that includes "transitional guidance" for market participants who had been anxious about providing advice to funds that might include bond proceeds.

Market participants are divided over the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's proposal to require a qualifications exam for municipal advisors, with some wanting a uniform exam for all muni finance professionals and others wanting an approach more tailored to specific MA activities.

State and local officials are worried that small issuers of municipal bonds will be disproportionately exposed to the risk of enforcement action under the Securities and Exchange Commission's continuing self-reporting program on disclosure failures, and plan to pressure the commission to extend the initiative's deadline beyond its current Sept. 10 date and offer more guidance.

The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association will help large issuers of municipal bonds pressure the Securities and Exchange Commission for a sophisticated issuer exemption from its municipal advisor rule, and will also request another delay in the rule's effective date if more guidance is not available soon.