Law and regulation

The Securities and Exchange Commission's fraud case against Miami and its former budget director Michael Boudreaux is on hold pending Boudreaux's appeal of the court's decision to invalidate his effort to claim immunity from the lawsuit.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board unveiled an updated look to its EMMA website Feb. 7, with a focus on improving ease of navigation for new users, the MSRB said.

Fitch Ratings said Thursday that it expects a gradual unwinding or restructuring of tender option bond programs over the next few months since they were not exempted from the Volcker Rule.

The Securities and Exchange Commission's muni office will spend the coming months implementing the final municipal advisor rule and reviewing MA rule filings by the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, but the commission needs more resources to meet its expanded responsibilities.

Convicted bid-rigger Michael Welty and two co-defendants are moving for a new trial, claiming the government suppressed evidence in the form of an email that could have allowed Welty to challenge some of the government's claims against him.

Convicted bid-rigger David Rubin should pay more than $11,5 million in restitution to 99 municipal victims who have not been compensated for losses they incurred due to "kickbacks" and depressed interest rates resulting from criminal activity, according to U.S. Justice Department filings with a federal court this week.

WASHINGTON – The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has decided to propose an explicit best execution rule for dealers in the municipal market, MSRB officials said Tuesday, calling it "a very significant development for the municipal market."

The Public Finance Network, elected public officials and dealer groups are urging bank regulators to categorize municipal securities as high quality liquid assets in a proposed rule, warning the failure to do so would significantly harm the municipal market and state and local governments.

The Securities and Exchange Commission will spend the next few years acting on the recommendations in its 2012 municipal market report as well as strengthening muni advisor oversight, according to the SEC's draft strategic plan released Monday.

Dealer groups told issuer officials Jan. 30 that they have many unanswered questions under the Securities and Exchange Commission's registration rule, as broker-dealers work to keep municipalities informed about their efforts to comply with the rule before its July 1 effective date.

U.S. banking regulators are proposing to exclude municipal securities as high quality liquid assets in a rule designed to ensure banks and other large financial institutions are equipped to handle severe financial and economic stress.

The SEC will release more guidance on technical aspects of its municipal advisor registration rule prior to the rule's July 1 effective date, John Cross told issuer officials Thursday.

Sentencing for convicted bid-rigger David Rubin has been pushed back until March 6 because his attorney will not be able to be present during the previously scheduled Feb. 3 date.

The Securities and Exchange Commission used a combination of its antifraud authority and SEC Rule 15c2-12 in 2013 to raise the bar for issuers' secondary municipal market disclosures.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission a proposal to consolidate its existing rules on pricing and execution, as well as fair dealing guidance, into a single new fair pricing rule.

The Securities and Exchange Commission's Michael Piwowar said Monday that he has asked the SEC's Office of Municipal Securities to work with him on proposals to improve the market.

Miami and former budget director Michael Boudreaux have requested a jury trial and denied most of the Securities and Exchange Commission's fraud allegations in recent federal court filings.

Securities and Exchange Commission Officials confirmed Wednesday that the SEC's office of enforcement will carry the responsibility of overseeing all of the more than 1,100 registered municipal advisors

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board will discuss drafts of rules creating a best execution standard for broker-dealers and establishing supervisory requirements for municipal advisors during its next meeting Jan. 29-31 in Atlanta.

Two recent solicitations for financial advisors in Orlando and Los Angeles illustrate the tensions between dealer and non-dealer advisors, as the Securities and Exchange Commission and Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board begin to put in place a regulatory scheme to create a level playing field between the two.