Enforcement

The dealer entered into two municipal bond orders into a recently deceased customer's account.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority previously sanctioned UBS in 2015 for similar violations.

The New York-based firm mismarked 90% of its municipal securities trades, FINRA found.

FINRA settled with two parties after they violated MSRB Rule G-17 by whiting out dates and failing to disclose a $2 million fee up until an issuance.

The Treasury and Internal Revenue Service sent the final regulation to the White House Office of Management and Budget over six weeks ago.

The audit concluded a year and one day after the sports authority received a letter dated April 4, 2018, informing it that the tax-exempt status of the bonds was being examined.

The firms are saying they shouldn't have to participate in the disclosure, which could lead to a clawback of bond payments.

A former municipal advisor accused of billing a city thousands of dollars for services it did not receive is now facing criminal fraud charges.

A Chicago area broker-dealer agreed to pay a $25,000 to settle FINRA charges that it relied on alternative trading systems and failed to maintain its own risk-management controls.

While associated with J.P. Morgan, a broker allegedly cheated on her Series 52 exam, violating FINRA Rule 2010.

Telley Meier, IRS field operations manager for the Indian Tribal Government/Tax Exempt Bonds office, advises bond attorneys to call the examination agent if they think an audit has been erroneously selected.

“Major banking organizations have now used this abusive tax shelter scheme to illegally shelter well over $1 billion in taxable income,” said the letter by W. Mark Scott.

Trade reporting and supervisory failures were behind FINRA's action against the New York-based firm.

Broker-dealers can avoid fines if they self-report 529 savings plan supervisory violations by April 1.

Only five priorities remain on the Treasury and IRS work plan in 2019 for the municipal bond market.

Three areas are new additions to the work plan of the Tax Exempt and Government Entities Business Operating Division, IRS officials said.

The Treasury Department Inspector General for Tax Administration plans to audit the IRS' use of a much-feared enforcement tool under which it can impose penalties for the misconduct of municipal bond transaction participants such as underwriters, lawyers, municipal advisors or their firms.

The whistleblower responsible for federal investigations and lawsuits accusing banks and broker-dealers of fraud and collusion in the remarketing of variable rate demand obligations will likely be forced to go public because of a recent ruling by Massachusetts’ highest court.

The MSRB, SEC, and FINRA will host an outreach event early next year as muni advisors prepare for a new principal exam among other requirements.

The Internal Revenue Service has taken no action regarding tax-exempt refunding bonds that were issued for Gettysburg College in 2010, after closing an audit that appears to have been randomly initiated.