Kyle Glazier

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has identified the suitability of the bonds of distressed municipalities for investors, as well as municipal advisor activity, as areas it will focus on in 2014.

States will be allowed to issue 5.2% more of private activity bonds in 2014, freeing money for projects that would otherwise be ineligible for tax-exempt financing.

A federal judge has ruled that the Securities and Exchange Commission's fraud case against Miami, Fla. and its former budget director can continue in civil court, denying both defendants' motions to dismiss.

The Securities and Exchange Commission's enforcement division will be very active in the muni space in 2014, experts said, with emphasis on actions against municipal officials and underwriters.

Municipal advisor regulations are likely to be the focus of intense debate in 2014, as the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board labors to release rules and broker-dealer groups continue to push for interpretations favorable to underwriters.

FirstSouthwest is protesting against "restrictive" conditions included in a request for quotations issued by the Greater Texoma Utility Authority in Texas, which said it will only consider proposals from a financial advisor that is independent from a broker-dealer.

Dan Heimowitz first got into public finance because of a devastating financial crisis in his hometown. Decades later, he's overseeing rulemaking covering a whole new class of regulated firms and individuals.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority fined five firms and three individuals for violations of municipal securities requirements, including Barclays Capital Inc., which was directed to pay $200,000 for using bond proceeds to reimburse itself for membership in a lobbying group.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has requested public comment on whether to require dealers to ensure that their municipal securities staff receive annual muni bond training.

A federal appeals court freed three convicted bid-riggers from prison just before Thanksgiving because the statute of limitations had run out on their alleged violations, according to the court’s newly released opinion.

Several federal agencies have approved a final proprietar trading rule that exempts municipal bonds, something market participants asked for.

The SEC should provide guidance to broker-dealers assuring them that they will not be restricted from giving advice to issuers in their roles as underwriters, a congressman told SEC chairman Mary Jo White in a recent letter.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has fined Oppenheimer & Co. $675,000 for charging unfair prices in municipal securities transactions and for failing to have an adequate supervisory system, FINRA announced Monday.

It is not time to panic despite the struggle of Detroit bondholders to regain their money, representatives of the four largest bond rating agencies told state treasurers Thursday.

Regulatory officials, analysts and lawyers told state treasurers Wednesday that their approaches to municipal bond disclosure are of the utmost importance in the wake of recent Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement actions.

The number of municipal bond issuers rated as "speculative" by Moody's Investors Service has grown by 27% since 2008 and will likely grow further but remain a small part of the market, the rating agency said in its annual report on junk bond issuers.

Three former bankers at GE Funding Capital Market Services, Inc., convicted of fraud and conspiracy for rigging municipal bond investment bids are out of prison following a Nov. 26 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit overturning their guilty verdicts.

The sentencing for convicted bid rigger David Rubin, currently scheduled for Dec. 17, may be delayed until January at the request of his defense team.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Detroit-based Ambassador Capital Management and portfolio manager Derek Oglesby with fraud for investing in risky securities and passing them off to investors, including municipalities, as safe money market funds.

Unfunded healthcare liabilities for retired state employees declined a bit since 2011, a new Standard and Poor's report shows, but more management is needed to protect state credits going forward.