Law and regulation

The National Association of State Treasurers said it is committed to defending existing tax policy on municipal bonds, even though doubts about the status of private activity bonds showed during the group's legislative conference.

The Senate Banking Committee voted 21-1 to recommend the full Senate confirm President Obama's nominee Mary Jo White as Securities and Exchange Commission chairman. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, cast the lone vote against her.

The Senate Banking Committee voted to recommend the full Senate approve the appointment of Mary Jo White as SEC chair.

Four firms agreed to pay $105,000 in fines for violations of pricing, political contribution, supervisory and other rules of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board.

Smaller banks and securities firms are urging the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board not to shorten its current 15-minute trade reporting deadline or make changes to current trade reporting procedures.

Bond lawyers should report an issuer's failure to comply with its continuing disclosure agreement, no matter how late, because doing so no longer carries a stigma and "does not hurt the issuer's ability to sell the bonds," panel members said at the National Association of Bond Lawyers Tax and Securities Law Institute here.

Though sequestration prevented two federal regulators from sharing their perspectives, other panelists speaking to bond lawyers in San Francisco predicted more enforcement and whistleblower activity.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is still months away from finalizing its definition of municipal advisor, but is poised to step up muni bond enforcement efforts in general, the head of the SEC's Office of Municipal Securities told bond lawyers meeting here.

The recent settlement by Illinois with the Securities and Exchange Commission on charges of shoddy pension disclosure will lead to better disclosure overall and boost the credit of the entire municipal securities market, according to a report Moody's Investors Services released Friday.

Sentencing of David Rubin and his firm, CDR Financial Products Inc., for charges related to bid-rigging of municipal investment contracts, has been postponed by a federal judge until June 28.

Justice Department antitrust prosecutor Rebecca Meiklejohn and Internal Revenue Service agent Michael Okubo gave bond lawyers an indepth look at the investigations and prosecutions of convicted bid riggers, urging them to be more careful about looking for red flags that suggest laws are being violated in bond transactions.

The Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United ruling should alleviate concerns by the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board that additional regulation of bond ballot campaign contributions could violate free speech protections guaranteed by the First Amendment, according to the National Association of Independent Public Finance Advisors.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's proposed rule on dealers' time-of-trade disclosure obligations is overly broad, lacks clarity and does not address important issues, such as disclosures to "sophisticated municipal market professionals" or to customers using online trading systems, warned muni dealers.

Mary Jo White, President Obama's nominee for chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, told lawmakers Tuesday that her work representing high-profile clients as a criminal defense attorney will not create undue conflicts of interest or affect her ability effectively run the SEC.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board proposed rule changes requiring dealers to analyze more information when determining if a recommended transaction or investment strategy is suitable for a customer.

Illinois has settled securities fraud charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission for misleading investors about its approach to funding its pension obligations.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's interpretive guidance to fair-dealing rules that took effect last year was "over-lawyered" and has caused widespread criticism from issuers of municipal bonds, the head of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board said Thursday.

The Securities and Exchange Commission agreed Thursday to propose a rule that would require self-regulatory agencies, possibly including the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, and other entities to meet new technology standards so as to better insulate financial markets technological problems.

A federal judge has postponed sentencing of two former CDR Financial Products Inc., staffers until after the bid-rigging trial against former Bank of America executive Phillip Dennis Murphy, which is slated to start Feb. 3, 2014.