Washington

A federal court in New Jersey has approved a $46 million settlement between Wachovia Bank NA, now Wells Fargo Bank NA, and the Securities and Exchange Commission over bid-rigging of municipal-bond related contracts as well as the amounts of restitution that are to go to each of the almost 60 state and local issuers that were defrauded.

U.S. Bank is clawing back debt-service payments it erroneously paid investors after a public arena in eastern Washington defaulted.

Two Republican members of the Securities and Exchange Commission have stalled the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's proposed G-17 guidance on fair dealing for underwriters, saying they need more time to analyze the proposal, according to sources.

The Securities and Exchange Commission said late Thursday that it is a "statutory party in interest" in Jefferson County, Ala.'s bankruptcy case and wants to receive all notices and documents filed with the court.

Wachovia Bank NA, now Wells Fargo Bank NA, has agreed to pay $148 million to settle securities, tax and other federal and state law violations stemming from fraudulently engaging in secret arrangements with bidding agents to win business from municipalities and profits for itself from the reinvestment of muni proceeds.

A bill meant to rescue a Wenatchee public arena from its default on $42 million of notes passed the Washington House Monday. But the measure appeared to lack the votes to pass the Senate during the special session that lasts until Christmas vacation.

The Internal Revenue Service has ruled that a nonprofit health care system cannot use tax-exempt bonds to pay off the debt of a for-profit subsidiary that financed the development of a wellness and fitness facility, even though the facility was donated to another nonprofit organization.

Other financial industry groups lobby Washington lawmakers and regulators about the issues that affect the municipal securities markets, but few can match SIFMA's resources.

As Jefferson County, Ala., teetered on the edge of bankruptcy for much of this year, a financial industry group plowed more than $4 million into lobbying Washington lawmakers and regulators to dilute provisions of the reform law enacted last year to curb the kinds of abuses that helped trigger the municipality's fiscal distress.

SIFMA's highest-paid outside lobbyist this year, Ernst & Young LLP in Washington, received $240,000 through September for activities in the House, the Senate, and the Treasury Department on miscellaneous corporate tax issues related to financial services, according to its disclosure reports.

State treasurers voiced concerns about a proposal unveiled by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board that recommends they provide five-year projections of cash flows and information about future financial obligations.

WASHINGTON - An industry group on Tuesday will unveil a revised edition of a one-volume treatise on municipal bonds, citing significant changes in the market since the last edition went to press 10 years ago.

WASHINGTON — Touting the success of the Treasury Department’s New Issue Bond Purchase Program, a group of local housing finance agencies is urging the Obama administration to modify and extend it, this time allowing the Treasury to exchange mortgage-backed securities it holds in its portfolio for MBS that wrap NIBP bonds.

SAN FRANCISCO — Standard & Poor's said it downgraded the short-term rating on debt issued by a public arena in Wenatchee, Wash., to D from SP-3 after a $42 million default.

BRADENTON, Fla. - The Securities and Exchange Commission has opened what appears to be a sweeping investigation into the new, largely bond-financed stadium for Major League Baseball's Miami Marlins.

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board will propose that state and local governments report five-year projections of cash inflows, outflows, and future financial obligations as supplementary information, following the notes to their financial statements.

WASHINGTON — An issuer group urged the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board to adopt suitability standards preventing the sale of inappropriate financial products to state and local governments.

PHILADELPHIA — The Securities and Exchange Commission is preparing procedures that it will use to conduct examinations of independent, non-dealer municipal advisors to see if they are complying with federal laws and rules pertaining to municipal securities, , an SEC official said Thursday.

SAN FRANCISCO — A Washington judge has dismissed a lawsuit that tried to void the state's $519 million bond deal for a floating bridge project.

SAN FRANCISCO — An arena in eastern Washington is headed for a $42 million default Thursday after state lawmakers failed to pass a rescue bill in time during an emergency session.