Financial regulations

The Securities and Exchange Commission will be issuing two different rulemaking proposals to address the controversial Financial Data Transparency Act.

The MSRB will request comment on Rule G-12 on inter dealer confirmations and seeks to codify or retire nearly 40 pieces of interpretive guidance related to it.

The proposal would prevent the sale of asset -backed securities tainted by any material conflict of interest and commenters feel that munis should be excluded from the final rule.

The Securities and Exchange Commission proposal would require all market entities to implement policies and procedures to address cybersecurity risks.

Municipal securities could be exempt from the proposal and the Commission invites commenters to lay out why that should be the case.

The proposed Rule G-46 seeks to clarify certain rules specific to solicitor municipal advisors, a very specific group of professionals.

The MSRB took no concrete actions at its meeting that ended last week, but discussed initiatives important to market participants.

Some industry observers still question the need for machine-readable municipal disclosure.

Regulators have ambitious plans for 2023, which include best execution and time of trade proposals.

Municipal issuers pushed hard but unsuccessfully against the bill, which gives them four years to standardize their financial information.

The latest version of a controversial financial disclosure bill includes changes that benefit muni issuers after a major push by the public finance lobby.

The provision shifts rulemaking and enforcement of the new disclosure standards to the SEC from the MSRB, which was charged with the task in an original version.

The municipal dealer community supports market transparency. The proposal before Congress, however, is poorly conceived, has few if any market supporters, and has the potential to be very expensive.

Even without formal rules tailored to the municipal market, ESG integration will likely come to the muni market faster than expected.

After thirty years at the Commission, Lori Price will begin as director for the Office of Credit Ratings Aug. 14

Puerto Rico-based Ocean Capital is trying to gain control of several local tax-free income funds by electing members to the funds' board of directors, but current board members have refused to give up their seats.

Issuers need to be careful with bonds specifically marketed as green, said the head of Office of Municipal Securities.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has come forward with a proposal that would expand the Names Rule to include any language associated with ESG related metrics.

Municipal advisors are seeking more and better communication from regulators and enforcers, NAMA Executive Director Susan Gaffney says. Kyle Glazier hosts. (24 minutes)

SIFMA CEO Ken Bentsen and Head of Municipals Leslie Norwood discuss developments at the organization, the legislative outlook, and regulatory developments related to ESG. Kyle Glazier hosts. (28 minutes)