MSRB

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board heads into its new fiscal year focused on market regulation, improving data for the muni market, and updating its EMMA technology platform.

The website now shows Bloomberg's yield curve with hourly updates between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. The move changes EMMA's usual practice of displaying yield curve data from the day before.

The amendments exempt those who've already qualified as a municipal advisor representative from retaking the Series 50 exam.

Mainly attributable to high inflation and increasing interest rates, costs have been increasing for retail sized trades but remained steady for institutional sized trades.

The board has added Alexander Chilton, Michael Craft, Pamela Frederick, Wendell Gaertner, and Christopher Kendall, as well as the returning Ernesto Lanza as chief regulatory and policy officer.

During its quarterly board meeting, the MSRB approved its controversial one-minute trade reporting window and approved a $47 million budget for FY 2024.

The action does not have immediate implications for municipal issuers but could give the muni market a sense of how the SEC is beginning to think about cybersecurity risks.

The proposed change to a one-minute reporting window will be discussed at the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board upcoming quarterly meeting.

The rule amendments would create an exemption for previously qualified municipal advisors to forego requalification after a lapse in working for a municipal advisor.

Through proposed SEC regulations, federal grants and cybersecurity insurance, areas of the public finance industry are adjusting to costly and omnipresent cyber threats. 

Jerry Ford returns to fill the slot left open by Jill Jaworski.

Volatility in fixed income prices, which has risen recently, should not be mistaken for a systemic flaw in market structure or be used as a "strawman" to fix the plumbing and functioning of these markets.

The MSRB has received approval from the SEC for its amendments to Rules G-12 on uniform practice and G-15 on confirmation, clearance, and settlement practices.

The amendments make some key rule changes, including on the use of testimonials in municipal advisor advertising.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board is seeking an MA candidate to replace Jill Jaworski as she leaves to become the chief financial officer of the City of Chicago.

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 MSRB's upcoming board meeting on will focus on time of trade reporting, amendments to Rules G-47 on time of trade disclosures and D-15 on sophisticated municipal market professionals.

The MSRB's proposed amendments to Rule G-47 on time of trade disclosures codifies existing guidance and is being welcomed by dealer groups despite some minor objections.

Comments for the proposal are in and many urge the Commission to drop the proposal it due to the overlap of existing MSRB and FINRA rules.

The amendments seek to align the Rules with the Securities and Exchange Commission's recent approval of T+1 clearing across bond markets.