Law and regulation

Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. has agreed to pay a $250,000 fine after the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority found rule violations including the failure to report accurate interest rate reset information for 251,507 variable rate demand obligation securities.

A Trump executive order to pull back rules and the costs they impose encourages independent agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission to review their rules even though the order does not apply to them, according to guidance issued Monday.

President Trump’s executive order to scale back the Dodd-Frank Act opens the door for regulatory reform that could touch on municipal securities, although any substantive changes to the act would have to be left to Congress.

Phoenix-based Lawson Financial Corp. had its Financial Industry Regulatory Authority membership revoked and its CEO and president was barred from the industry after FINRA found they fraudulently sold millions of dollars of municipal revenue bonds.

Two Puerto Rico residents are firing back at UBS, saying the firm's challenge in federal court of an $18 million Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitration award over losses in Puerto Rico bonds is "a hopeless and baseless attempt at an unwarranted do over."

Market participants interested in serving on the board of directors for the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board have sixteen more days to apply for a term that would start Oct. 1 and last four years.

Committee Republicans, lacking Democrats, waive their quorum rule and vote to recommend the Senate confirm Steven Mnuchin as Treasury Secretary.

A federal judge has denied former Miami budget director Michael Boudreaux's motion for a new trial after a jury found him guilty of securities fraud for misleading municipal bond investors, but he is still exploring options for appeal, his lawyer said.

Marc Wyatt, director of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations, plans to leave the SEC next month to return to the private sector, the commission announced on Monday.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board will propose to codify its long-time regulatory interpretation that dealers are required to apply for CUSIP numbers when conducting private placements.

The Securities and Exchange Commission and three defendants allegedly involved in a pay-to-play scheme to steer billions of dollars of business from a New York pension fund to certain firms have agreed to ask a federal court to stay the civil case resulting from the charges while two criminal cases moves forward.

The Securities Exchange Commission’s regulatory and enforcement workload may be slowed or stalled now that it is down to only two commissioners, one Democrat and one Republican, said observers.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board is asking the Securities and Exchange Commission to approve its proposal for a standalone minimum denomination rule that would slightly revise past proposed requirements and is designed to help liquidity and respond to concerns from dealers.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board on Tuesday announced it will hire Simon Wu, a director with Berkeley Research Group here, to be its chief economist starting on Feb. 6.

Seven municipal bond groups are urging the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board to improve the accessibility and usefulness of its Electronic Municipal Market Access (EMMA) platform for market participants.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is asking a federal court judge to deny former Miami budget director Michael Boudreaux’s motion to vacate a verdict that found him guilty of securities fraud, saying the former official’s arguments are meritless and do not meet the high burden required for such action.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed fraud charges and obtained an emergency asset freeze against a South Carolina businessman who allegedly siphoned funds raised from municipal bond investors that were meant to purchase or renovate senior housing facilities.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved proposed Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board changes to complaint processes for dealers and municipal advisors, saying they are consistent with the MSRB’s authority and do not overburden market participants.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board will focus on strategic planning and will discuss continuing education for municipal advisors as well as continuing disclosure during its quarterly board meeting here next week.

Dougherty & Co. and its former employee Jeffrey Hill have agreed to $140,000 and $5,000 fines, respectively, to separately settle with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority over charges that Hill recommended and initiated numerous unsuitable trades for two elderly customers.