Law and regulation

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board announced Wednesday that former board member Milroy A. Alexander has rejoined the group as a public representative through Sept. 30 due to some shuffling in the wake of board member Peter Taylor's resignation.

A municipal bond market task force issued a paper on Wednesday urging state and local issuers and conduit borrowers to consider voluntarily disclosing certain information about bank loans.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a lawsuit against Victorville, Calif., a city official, the Southern California Logistics Airport Authority, and underwriter Kinsell, Newcomb & DeDios, charging them with defrauding investors by inflating valuations of property in connection with a 2008 bond offering.

Some Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board members are concerned about dealer financial advisory contracts with issuers that appear to disclaim away the dealers' legal and regulatory obligations, MSRB chair Jay Goldstone said Friday after the board's meeting at its headquarters in Alexandria. Va.

Municipal exchange traded funds have become part of the municipal market product mix, but should be part of an overall investment program and not solely relied upon, Municipal Market Advisors said in a white paper tracing the evolution of ETFs from 2007 through 2012.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has updated its guidance for individual municipal bond investors by urging them to ask brokers questions about issuer disclosures and bond insurer ratings.

The Securities and Exchange Commission's John Cross told attendees at a Bond Buyer Conference Monday that the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's G-17 guidance has helped craft the long-awaited municipal advisor rule.

The Virginia Supreme Court has reinstated Fluvanna County, Va.'s lawsuit against Davenport & Co. LLC, which seeks damages for state and federal security law violations the county claims the firm committed while serving as its financial advisor.

George Canellos and Andrew Ceresney have been named co-directors of the Securities and Exchange Commission's enforcement division — the first time the SEC will has had two leaders of the group.

Frank Shafroth on Friday left the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, where he was director of legislative affairs and intergovernmental relationships, to focus on his post at George Mason University.

What's Going on the Week of April 22

Securities and Exchange Commission member Dan Gallagher on Thursday tried to explain his recent warning that retail bondholders in the muni market, already wary their municipal securities may not have priority in a bankruptcy proceeding, are likely to face an Armageddon if interest rates rise.

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged the chief executive officer of a Chicago-based advisory firm with lying to the California Public Employers' Retirement System and other clients about the amount of money managed by the firm.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board will consider next week comments received on a proposal to require underwriters to disclose preliminary official statements and a proposal to create a new rule governing sophisticated municipal market professionals.

Securities and Exchange Commission commissioners and panelists at a roundtable Tuesday wrestled with how to improve the transparency of municipal bond trading and prices, particularly for retail investors.

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., has introduced legislation granting commercial banks an exemption from municipal advisor registration under the Dodd-Frank Act.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority fined a firm $37,500 for trade and books and records violations, and a broker $5,000, giving him a four-month suspension, for telling a customer he redeemed bonds rather than sold them without the customer's permission.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has published an introductory guide to its Electronic Municipal Market Access, or EMMA, website for state and local issuers of municipal bonds.

The Securities and Exchange Commission's Office of Municipal Securities will shrink to two members after attorney Dave Sanchez departs April 19.