Enforcement

Utah Treasurer Richard Ellis is making a push to educate his state's issuers about the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation initiative, which many public officials remain uninformed about.

Bond lawyers and issuers are frustrated that the Securities and Exchange Commission did not specify the disclosure failures that led to its settlement with a California school district on Tuesday. They said it leaves them with no helpful guidance on what kinds of disclosures the SEC is focusing on in its Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation voluntary enforcement initiative.

The Securities and Exchange Commission settled its first case under its Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation initiative after charging a school district in California with misleading bond investors about its past compliance with its continuing disclosure obligations.

Chicago named one of its financial consultants, Martin J. Luby, as its independent registered municipal advisor to evaluate financing proposals as it seeks to comply with new regulations without stemming creative financing suggestions.

The Government Finance Officers Association has issued an alert for issuer officials urging them to approach the Securities and Exchange Commission's continuing disclosure self-reporting program cautiously, and advising the group's members that attempts to lobby the SEC for changes to the initiative have been largely unsuccessful.

New York State will receive about $3.59 billion as part of a settlement with BNP Paribas for violating United States economic sanctions.

The Bond Dealers of America is making another push for changes to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation initiative after the SEC rejected BDA's earlier requests to narrow the scope of the program and extend its deadline.

As many state and local governments across the country begin their July 1 fiscal year, a new federal law going into effect is of particular interest to municipal governments that issue bonds.

Some broker-dealers and some issuers have distorted the truth about the municipal advisor rule, said a former Securities and Exchange Commission lawyer who worked on the new regulatory regime.

The SEC's latest action continues to illustrate the commission's intent to vigorously enforce the muni bond space, securities lawyers said, and might also illustrate why issuers might hesitate to participate in its controversial self-reporting program.

Harvey, Ill. and its comptroller, Joseph T. Letke, are accused of misusing bond proceeds and misrepresenting investment risks in a civil complaint filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission that led to an injunction blocking an upcoming issue planned by the Chicago suburb.

Moody's downgraded the ratings of King's Daughters Medical Center, Ky., to A3 from A2, with a continued negative outlook, partly because of a $41 million Department of Justice settlement.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged a Philadelphia-area private equity firm with violating pay-to-play rules by receiving advisory fees from the city and state pension funds following campaign contributions an associate made to state and local officials. It is the first case brought by the SEC under its pay-to-play rules for investment advisers.

The Securities and Exchange Commission's investigation of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey must determine if investors needed to know about $1.8 billion of controversial spending, securities law experts said. Others said any SEC enforcement action would not be a fix for the authority's problems.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority censured and imposed a $200,000 fine on the former Howe Barnes Hoefer & Arnett in Chicago for excessive markups of zero-coupon municipal bonds and U.S. Treasury and agency STRIPS, questionable trading practices, and supervisory failures.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has publicly disclosed that it is under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission and other federal and state authorities for diverting $1.8 billion to pay for New Jersey road repair projects, The Bergen Record reported Thursday evening.

The Bond Dealers of America is urging the Securities and Exchange Commission to limit the scope of its continuing disclosure violation self-reporting program and the participation deadline by more than three months.

New study links increased public corruption to high levels of state expenditures on highways and other construction projects.

City attorneys should be aware of possible conflicts between the issuer they represent and its employees, financial advisors and counsel about whether to self-report that bond documents failed to disclose violations of a continuing disclosure agreement, regulators and lawyers warned Thursday.

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday filed securities fraud charges against a nonprofit charter school operator in Chicago for misleading investors of $37.5 million of bonds about conflicts of interest that could have jeopardized the ability to pay debt service.