Law and regulation

Municipal finance industry professionals discussed the importance and process of continuing disclosure practices during The Bond Buyer's California Public Finance Conference.

Should municipal bond issuers be discouraged from disclosing voluntary settlements of tax disputes with the Internal Revenue Service, for fear the SEC will notice the disclosures and then take enforcement action against the issuer for securities fraud violations?

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has announced a policy for formally incorporating economic analysis in its regulations.

Elaine Greenberg, former chief of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s municipal securities and public pension unit, made her private-sector speaking debut after joining Orrick.

Bond lawyers are worried that exemptions from registration under the Securities and Exchange Commission's municipal advisor rule might not protect long-established practices by themselves and their underwriter clients.

Broker-dealers are concerned about the exemptions provided for underwriters in the Securities and Exchange Commission's municipal advisor registration rule, saying it hampers their ability to "pitch ideas" to issuers.

The National Association of Bond Lawyers is working on projects aimed at shedding more light on the varying strength of general obligation bond pledges, as well post-issuance tax and disclosure compliance, NABL president-elect Allen Robertson said in a recent interview.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s proposed rule changes on retail order periods would be burdensome, costly and would result in unintended adverse consequences for dealers and issuers, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association warned on Monday.

Elaine Greenberg, former chief of the Securities and Exchange Commission's municipal securities and public pensions enforcement unit, has joined the Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP's office here, the firm announced Monday.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has filed a proposal with the Securities and Exchange Commission that would prohibit, with a few exceptions, broker-dealers from providing consent to issuer requests to change bond authorizing documents.

A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitration panel has ruled against The Police and Fire Retirement System of the City of Detroit, which was seeking at least $39.9 million from Citigroup Global Markets, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and other firms over risky investments.

Market participants are generally pleased that the Securities and Exchange Commission has adopted a municipal adviser definition that addressed concerns from several sectors of the muni bond industry, but independent MAs remain concerned that the registration exemptions might allow for abuses Dodd-Frank was intended to curb.

Municipal money market funds should not be required to have floating rate net asset values, most of the witnesses and several lawmakers said at a hearing held here on Wednesday by a House Financial Services Committee panel.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to approve a package of rules and proposed rule changes designed to consolidate and harmonize fair dealing requirements for muni securities dealers.

The Securities and Exchange Commission unanimously adopted a registration rule for municipal advisors, establishing that they have a federal fiduciary duty to clients if they provide advice, compensated or not, that is related to bonds or other municipal financial products and involves recommendations based on the specific needs of a municipal entity.

State and local governments are urging the Securities and Exchange Commission to either abandon proposed reforms for money market funds or exempt municipal MMFs from the reforms and clarify the rule changes are not meant to impact local government investment pools.

Reps. Steve Stivers, R-Ohio, and Gwen Moore, D-Wis., are urging the Securities and Exchange Commission's newest members to support the bipartisan legislative duo's efforts to narrow the definition of municipal advisor.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority fined three firms and one individual a total of $87,500 for violating pricing, trade reporting and other muni violations, with Tradition Asiel Securities accounting for $80,000 of that.

The Securities and Exchange Commission plans to meet on Wednesday, Sept. 18 to consider whether to adopt new registration rules and forms for municipal advisors that detail who they are.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged the operator of Miami-Dade County, Fla.'s largest hospital with defrauding investors by failing to disclose its financial woes prior to an $83 million bond offering.