MSRB announces nine members of its Compliance Advisory Group

PHOENIX – A group of nine muni market veterans will guide the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board in its goal of facilitating industry compliance with its rules.

The board announced the members of its Compliance Advisory Group Tuesday, a day after telling market participants that it planned to set up the group.

The advisory group includes some well-known names in the legal, advisory, and broker-dealer communities, and will meet periodically throughout fiscal year 2018 to discuss rules or regulatory issues that may warrant additional compliance assistance, the board said.

The formation of the advisory group represents a key step in the MSRB’s pivot away from the federally-mandated rulemaking that occupied much of the last five years and toward a renewed focus on helping regulated entities comply with the existing rules.

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“With the foundational rules for municipal advisors now in place and a landmark new investor protection rule taking effect next year, the MSRB is increasing our commitment to assisting regulated entities with understanding their rules of conduct and developing effective compliance procedures,” said MSRB chair Lucy Hooper.

“We are bringing together a well-respected group of compliance-oriented senior executives from diverse regulated firms whose insights will help us prioritize the areas where the industry may benefit from further guidance or tools that support compliance,” she said.

The members are: Steven Apfelbacher, president of Ehlers & Associates; Curt de Crinis, managing director of C.M. de Crinis & Co.; Robert Fippinger who most recently served as MSRB chief legal officer; Joey Frebes, a senior vice president at KeyBanc Capital Markets; Jennifer Hash, compliance manager at Zions Bank Capital Markets/Zions Public Finance, Inc.; Steve Heaney, director of public finance at Stifel, Nicolaus & Company; Ben Juergens, executive director in the legal and compliance division of Morgan Stanley; Leo Karwejna, managing director and chief compliance officer at PFM; and Tionna Pooler, president of Independent Public Advisors.

The MSRB has announced that in addition to the formation of the advisory group, it also plans to publish a request for public comment on what it can do to best facilitate compliance with its rules.

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Securities law MSRB
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