Kyle Glazier

Sen. David Vitter, R-La., has reintroduced legislation that would prevent the federal government from providing assistance to any state or local government, including loans, loan guarantees, lines of credit, and grants. It would, of course, have exceptions for responses to disasters like Hurricane Katrina.

All individuals engaging in municipal advisory activities should be required to take a new qualifications test, and regulators should consider developing more specialized and supplemental exams at a later time, the National Association of Municipal Advisors told the Securities and Exchange Commission this week.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board is sounding another call for transparency of undisclosed debt such as bank loans, warning that failure to improve disclosure practices could impair market pricing or even threaten the rights of bondholders.

Two former Allen Park, Mich. officials have settled a Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit against them by agreeing to be barred from involvement in any future municipal bond offerings, and ex-Mayor Gary Burtka agreed to pay a $10,000 civil penalty, according to court documents filed Wednesday.

State and local governments of all sizes are using direct bank loans as an alternative to traditional bond financing, Standard & Poor's said Wednesday, renewing its call for more transparency surrounding bank debt.

The Federal Reserve Board’s decision to delay certain aspects of the Volcker Rule are a plus for the municipal market, a major rating agency and a dealer group said.

The Securities and Exchange Commission's rule 15c2-12 governing continuing disclosure of issuer financial information is outdated and could be streamlined to reduce the regulatory burden for issuers and underwriters, bond lawyers and underwriters told the SEC.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board will discuss municipal advisor qualification examinations, as well as comments on proposals restricting MA gift giving and requiring dealers to disclose reference prices on confirmation sheets at its quarterly meeting in Alexandria, Va., next week.

Dealers want the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board to withdraw a proposed rule that would require dealers acting as principals to disclose to customers on their confirmations a "reference price" of the same security traded that same day, urging enhancements to existing transparency systems as an alternative.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board is urging the Securities and Exchange Commission to conduct a review of the disclosure requirements in the SEC's Rule 15c2-12, and to consider requiring disclosure of non-bond debt such as bank loans.

President Obama's fiscal 2016 budget is expected to propose permanently increasing the qualified small issuer to cap to $30 million and allowing banks investing in munis to take a deduction – two provisions that were included in the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.

The Government Finance Officers Association is levelling strong criticism at Moody's Investors Service for failing to provide its credit ratings to EMMA and urging the agency to do so.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has fined and censured New York-based Gates Capital Corporation $25,000 for failing to report variable rate demand obligation interest rate resets on time.

The Securities and Exchange Commission's examination focuses for 2015 include issues related to protecting retail investors and assessing the compliance of municipal advisor firms, the commission announced Tuesday.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is urging a federal court to accept the settlements it had reached with two former officials of the city of Allen Park, Mich., in November, after the court vacated them a day later and asked for more information.

Dealers want the Securities and Exchange Commission to direct the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board to use a single qualifications exam for all muni professionals, while the Investment Company Institute wants separate municipal advisor exams tailored to the type of MA work being done.

Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board revenues totaled $32 million in fiscal year 2014, a 19% drop from the previous year, the board's annual report revealed.

Michigan Democrat Rep. John Conyers has introduced legislation that would make it much harder for municipalities to restructure their debt through bankruptcy.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's exam priorities for 2015 include making sure that both municipal advisors are complying with registration and other requirements and broker-dealers are meeting minimum denomination restrictions on bonds.

Margaret “Peg” Henry, a lawyer who has worked for municipal securities regulators, congressional tax-writing committees, as well as bond lawyer and underwriting firms, has joined Stifel Nicolaus & Co. as a deputy general counsel.