Law and regulation

The Securities and Exchange Commission hopes to finalize its definition of municipal advisor early next year, according to the head of the SEC's municipal securities office.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and four major industry groups spent millions of dollars on lobbyists to push their agendas on Capitol Hill, while the National Association of State Treasurers was the only governmental group to report hiring lobbyists, according to annual tax forms 22 muni-related groups filed with the Internal Revenue Service.

Middle-market, fixed-income dealer firms are adding staffers to their compliance divisions, part of an expensive effort to comply with a host of new financial regulations coming from Washington, D.C., some executives said at a meeting here.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has begun examining municipal bond dealers' compliance with the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's recently released interpretive guidance to Rule G-17, which spells out underwriters' fair-dealing obligations to municipal issuers.

Rep. Mike Coffman, R- Colo., has introduced legislation that would allow governmental and 501(c)(3) nonprofit bonds to be refunded a second time so that issuers and borrowers could save money by taking advantage of low interest rates.

Timothy Ryan, president and chief executive officer of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, had the highest compensation level among the leaders of 22 self-regulatory, dealer, governmental and other groups in the muni market, according to the latest forms the groups filed with the Internal Revenue Service.

Middle-market municipal bond dealers are banding with issuers, analysts and others to form Municipal Bonds for America, a coalition created to head off threats to the tax-exempt status of munis.

Non-dealer municipal advisors contend some muni bond underwriters are engaging in financial advisory activities with an issuer, despite a Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board rule prohibiting them from serving in both roles in the same transaction.

Regulatory efforts to promote muni market transparency have not reduced prices paid by retail investors for newly-issued muni bonds, according to study of muni bond trades by University of Notre Dame finance professor Paul Schultz.

The Securities and Exchange Commission's Office of Municipal Securities began reporting to SEC chairman Mary Schapiro as of Sept. 24, an attorney in the muni office said Thursday.

The Securities and Exchange Commission barred four former CDR Financial Products, Inc. employees from participating in the securities markets. CDR was formerly Rubin/Chambers Dunhill Insurance Services Inc.

Recent comments by the National Association of Independent Public Finance Advisors misstate the intent and value of the Dold Bill, which was approved on a bipartisan, unanimous basis by the Financial Services Committee and the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has revised its proposal designed to ensure dealers follow the terms of issuers' retail-order periods (ROPs).

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board will consider a "best execution" rule during its current fiscal year, which began Monday, MSRB executive director Lynnette Kelly said at an industry meeting here today.

The Securities and Exchange Commission does not intend to take an entire year to finalize its definition of municipal advisor, SEC commissioner Elisse Walter said Monday.

David Brownstein, managing director and co-head of public finance at Citi, has been named recipient of the Securities Industry and Financial Market's Association’s 2012 Honor Roll Award.

Muni dealers should consider advising customers that issuers of Build America Bonds may have the option to call those bonds starting Jan. 2 if budget cuts due to sequestration take effect.

The MSRB released education guides Thursday aimed at helping municipal bond investors and issuers understand municipal market indices, yield curves and muni benchmark data.

Proposed rules aimed at increasing protection for retail investors who trade munis online would impose undue costs and administrative burdens on muni dealers, industry participants say.

The SEC Thursday charged Goldman, Sachs & Co. and one of its former investment bankers with "pay-to-play" violations involving undisclosed campaign contributions to then-Massachusetts state treasurer Timothy P. Cahill while he was a candidate for governor.