Law and regulation

The Obama administration is emphasizing the urgency of giving Puerto Rico the right to use a bankruptcy process for its debts.

The National Federation of Municipal Analysts has released the final version of its set of best practices for state government general obligation bond disclosure, the first part of an ongoing update to a set of recommended best practices from 2001.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has shelved its controversial proposal to ease independence standards to obtain a public investor on its board and will instead establish an investor advisory group.

The Securities and Exchange Commission adopted amendments to its money market fund rule that would remove credit ratings references funds use to comply with the rule -- an action many market participants applauded but others said could pose risks..

Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Mary Jo White said she will work to make regulatory and other changes to support shortening the settlement cycle for several types of secondary market transactions from three days after a trade date to two days by 2017.

Securities and Exchange Commission top cop Andrew Ceresney and a Justice Department official warned legislators on Wednesday that a bill to update the Electronic Communication Privacy Act of 1986 could hurt their enforcement programs.

Dealer groups oppose a Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board proposal to provide academics with muni trade and pricing data with anonymous dealer identifiers while researchers contend the new data will add to market transparency.

Four broker-dealer firms have been ordered by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority to pay a total of $67,500 for municipal trade reporting and related violations.

Dealer, issuer and investment company groups are urging the Securities and Exchange Commission to disapprove a Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board rule that would impose core duties on municipal advisors, warning it is overly burdensome and anti-competitive.

The American College of Bond Counsel has elected officers and directors for the coming year.

SEC enforcement officials want muni market participants to know that they have 30 people, mostly staff attorneys, in eight offices around the country who have significant expertise in muni issues.

Securities and Exchange Commission officials rejected bond lawyers’ suggestions that the settlements with 36 underwriters under the Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation initiative contained specific parameters of continuing disclosure violations.

Should industry practices on pricing new bonds change in the wake of the SEC’s enforcement case against Edward Jones?

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board plans to administer its pilot Series 50 municipal advisory representative qualification exam from Jan. 15 through Feb., 15, 2016.

Secondary market disclosure, issue price, the tax exemption for municipal bonds and private placements with banks are some of the topics the National Association of Bond Lawyers will focus on in the coming year, according to the group’s incoming president, Kenneth Artin.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board will no longer stick to its Dec. 7 implementation date for its best execution rule, but will instead set the date to fall four months after it releases its guidance on the rule, the self-regulator said Thursday.

The U.S. Justice Department’s antitrust division is conducting a general inquiry into whether certain brokers’ brokers have engaged in anti-competitive practices with regard to pricing for secondary market and other municipal bond trades, according to industry officials.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board is asking the Securities and Exchange Commission to approve proposed rule changes that would address potential conflicts of interest by limiting the gifts and non-cash benefits that non-dealer municipal advisors can give to issuers and others in connection with their activities.

Arbitration panels ordered UBS Financial Services, Inc. and its subsidiary in Puerto Rico to pay more than $5.44 million to investors in the firm's proprietary closed-end mutual funds that predominantly contained Puerto Rico bonds.

Kenneth D. Gibbs, president of the municipal securities group at Jefferies LLC, plans to leave the firm at the end of the year and take over leadership of the Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn.