Law and regulation

Kym Arnone, the current chair of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, has left Barclays Capital, according to a company spokesperson.

The National Association of Bond Lawyers has updated its bankruptcy guide for members with new information drawn from the relatively high number of municipal bankruptcy filings in the last few years.

The 60 Plus Association announced on Thursday that it is forming a coalition of small holders of Puerto Rico bonds that will push for the creation of a financial control board and oppose bankruptcy legislation for the territory.

A U.S. district court judge has scheduled a trial for late summer of next year in the Securities and Exchange Commission case against the city of Miami and Michael Boudreaux, the city's former budget director.

Samantha DeZur, the Bond Dealers of America vice president of federal policy and strategic communications, will take a new job as the manager of government relations for Chicago-based CME Group Sept. 14.

Three federal appeals court judges dismissed a challenge Tuesday to the Securities and Exchange Commission's pay-to-play rule for investment advisors that has similarities to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's own pay-to-play rule for broker-dealers.

Michael Bartolotta, formerly of First Southwest, has left that firm to join Citi in Houston.

The National Association of Bond Lawyers released a paper Thursday giving its members tools to help issuer clients develop written disclosure policies and procedures in response to recent Securities and Exchange Commission cases against issuers.

The Investment Company Institute is urging the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board to give 529 college savings plan underwriters another extension before they will have to file their first data submissions under a recently adopted rule.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board announced changes to its Electronic Municipal Market Access site Tuesday that will allow municipal issuers to show bank loan disclosures in a further effort to promote voluntary disclosure of issuers’ bank loan financings.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ordered seven broker-dealer firms to pay a total of more than $90,641 to settle charges of muni trade reporting failures and excessive markups, as well as engaging in muni business without qualified personnel.

Two Citigroup companies agreed to pay $180 million on Monday to settle charges they defrauded investors by misrepresenting that investments in two now-defunct hedge funds were safe, low-risk and suitable for traditional bond investors.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has proposed several changes to clarify its proposed Rule G-42 on core duties of municipal advisors but declined to ease a controversial provision that would bar an MA giving advice from acting as a principal in the same transaction.

Susan Gaffney has been hired as executive director of the National Association of Municipal Advisors.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has censored and fined UBS Financial Services $750,000 for falsely representing to its customers that the interest on their municipal bond payments was tax-exempt when it was taxable.

Securities and Exchange Commission members are calling for the adoption of rules requiring broker-dealers to disclose markups and markdowns on municipal securities, warning that if self-regulators do not act, the SEC will propose the rules itself.

Lobbying efforts more than doubled in the second quarter of this year over pending legislation that would give Puerto Rico utilities and authorities access to Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board announced Monday it will increase its initial and annual fees while lowering its underwriting fee to better distribute costs among regulated entities based on level of involvement.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has asked for an extension to decide whether to approve the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's proposed Rule G-42 on the core duties of municipal advisors.

The Senate Appropriations Committee's fiscal 2016 financial services bill would significantly underfund the Securities and Exchange Commission and undermine the Internal Revenue Service's ability to carry out basic functions, Office of Management and Budget director Shaun Donovan warned committee leaders in a letter this week.