Financial regulations

Securities lawyers and the trade group for municipal advisors agree unregistered muni advisors shouldn't still be ignorant of the law.

Irene Carroll and her company, Funding the Gap LLC, settled with the SEC Friday for not registering as municipal advisors. The SEC said Caroll knew she provided similar services as an MA.

From June to July, not many municipal advisors relied on the SEC's temporary exemption and some sources say they don't expect it to be heavily used.

Eliseo Sampayo was fined $20,000, half of which will go to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board for violating its rules.

The settlement in which Roosevelt & Cross, Inc. agreed to pay $1 million is part of a now more than two-year crackdown on "flipping" arrangements.

Days before the SEC's regulation best interest goes into place, the SEC approved corresponding changes to muni securities rules.

Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., said the SEC's temporary relief for MAs to facilitate some private placement deals without registering as a broker-dealer should not have been created through exemptive relief.

Especially helpful is the MSRB’s weekly report aggregating disclosures made to the EMMA website that describe the impact of COVID-19 on state and local governments’ financial condition and operating status.

Lawyers say there could be some nuanced changes on how the SEC approaches enforcement if Clayton does leave for the U.S. Attorney job.

The SEC released an emergency order Tuesday that would allow municipal advisors to facilitate some private placement deals, which have seen an uptick during the pandemic.