Financial regulations

Nearly a trillion dollars worth of state and local government assets are now being held in Local Government Investment Pools.

"What we plan to tell the SEC is that municipal securities in general shouldn't be subject to Reg. AB," BDA's Michael Decker said.

Fippinger teamed up with co-authors Peg Henry and Ernesto Lanza for "The Securities Law of Public Finance (Fourth Edition)."

SIFMA looks forward to "the SEC approving this rate card, and the resulting fee reductions," Leslie Norwood said.

SROs "are now being guided by individuals who lack a deep real-world understanding of the markets they oversee," the trade association said in a letter to the House Financial Services Committee.

"We supported the approved rule change and are extremely disappointed that the MSRB is now proposing to halt the progress it had been making toward full and complete transparency in the municipal securities market," Dimensional Fund Advisors officials said in a letter.

Isaak Bond Investments has agreed to pay a $20,000 fine to settle allegations brought by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

"I've always really enjoyed what I do," said Henry, who began doing legal work involving municipal securities in 1981.

"If you are seeking the services of a municipal advisor, it would be helpful to use the term municipal advisor in your RFP/Qs," said Sanchez, director of the SEC's Office of Municipal Securities.

"I think your first question to them should be 'Are you from the future?,'" the deputy director of the SEC's Office of Municipal Securities said.

"The market itself should want to look at this because no one wants to give the perception of impropriety," said an investor of Stefanik's allegation that Harvard withheld material information regarding its ongoing conflict with the Trump administration.

The comments come after SEC asked for feedback on the collection of information in Rule 15c2-12.

Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., also said implementation of the data standards law may be tricky with the change of administrations.

The increase in the muni market's size, number of novel credits and retail investors suggest it's "finally time" for direct SEC regulation, argue market veterans Kent Hiteshew and David Dubrow.

"It's great people are thinking about creative solutions, but don't forget the rules still apply," said the SEC's Dave Sanchez.

The agencies are overstepping their statutory authority in trying to force the market to adopt a new securities identifier, says the American Bankers Association.

A report by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association shows that the move to a T+1 settlement cycle has struck the right balance between increasing efficiencies and mitigating risk.

The state's year-old rules ban broker-dealers and investment advisors from using non-financial criteria in investment strategies.

Local government investment pools remain free from SEC rules

In May, a bipartisan group of lawmakers sent a letter to the federal agencies responsible for the FDTA rulemaking, urging them to stick to the schedule spelled out in the law.