Law and regulation

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.

Legislation designed to enhance the Securities and Exchange Commission’s cost-benefit analysis of new rules before approving them passed the House after drawing support from Republicans and some industry groups.

Public pension and municipal advisors are among the examination priorities for the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2017, the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations announced Thursday.

Municipal market participants see a slowing of Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service guidance and rules in 2017, but plan to closely watch for tweaks to management contract guidance, final requirements for public approval of private activity bonds and political subdivision rules.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has agreed to clarify certain definitions and extend the effective date for proposed rule changes on complaints in response to market participants' concerns, but will not move forward with changes to address several other issues participants raised.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has agreed to admit wrongdoing and pay a $400,000 penalty to settle Securities and Exchange Commission charges that it failed to disclose risks associated with New Jersey road projects to the investors that bought the bonds to finance them.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s net assets in fiscal 2016, similar to those for the previous year, are still close to triple where they were in 2010, even after a $5.5 million rebate the self-regulator gave dealers this past year.

The Campaign Legal Center is trying to convince a federal court overseeing a challenge brought by Republican groups that the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s rule changes to prevent municipal advisors from engaging in pay-to-play practices are legal and needed to address the potential for corruption in the municipal market.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's enforcement priorities for 2017 will include ensuring municipal advisors are properly registered with regulators, checking broker-dealers' compliance with best execution requirements, and monitoring firms' efforts to avoid unsuitable recommendations of securities.

President-elect Donald Trump’s pick of New York lawyer Jay Clayton to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission represents a balanced choice for the agency in line with Trump’s focus on deregulation but municipal participants will likely have to wait to find out what impact he may have on the muni market, individuals and groups said.