GFOA

The SEC's Office of Municipal Securities is moving ahead on the Libor transition and issued a detailed advisory Friday to the municipal securities market.

Dealers said the pandemic has highlighted the challenges of outdated rules and the need to modernize them.

Sources expect funding to be put to use quickly compared to the CARES Act since many cities since stood up programs to provide pandemic related aid to households and small businesses.

The former South Bend, Indiana mayor understands the needs of state and local governments, though he lacks experience running a large organization.

The GFOA Debt Committee is working on issuing a similar Libor advisory in advisory in January or February.

Candidates for the next U.S. Secretary of Transportation bring something new to the table than in previous years — deep understanding of the municipal bond market.

The group of around a dozen issuers, bankers, broker-dealers, bond attorneys, and municipal advisors is sorting out their priorities for educating the public finance community.

The next milestone in the shift to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate is expected to be the announcement from the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority before the end of this year declaring Libor as nonrepresentative.

Credit rating agencies have done relatively few credit downgrades.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's new CEO plans to improve the quality of data on its site.

Groups said regulation would not be helpful in encouraging more disclosure.

Groups say they're frustrated by the federal governments' inaction.

Analysts say closer to 100% of issuers should be disclosing COVID-19 impacts, when in actuality, that number is much lower.

Market participants say the year long process to find a new leader for the Municipal Securities Rulemaing Board resulted in a good pick.

Sources say lawmakers want to know why the Municipal Liquidity Facility has only been used by two issuers.

A Government Finance Officers Association-led working group put out recommendations this week on timely and pandemic-related disclosure.

Issuers say extending the deadline is helpful, but they still need more flexible funding such as the ability to use federal aid to replace lost revenue.

On Tuesday, the Federal Reserve reduced interest rates in its Municipal Liquidity Facility by 50 basis points in each credit rating category.

Changes to the MSRB come a year after the proposal of legislation that would decrease the size of the board and increase the cooling off period for public board members.

Several groups are arguing their case to keep their seats on a smaller board.