Law and regulation

The National Federation of Municipal Analysts presented awards to six muni market professionals during a luncheon at its annual conference in Las Vegas Wednesday.

“Don’t fear the Fed” and looming interest rate increases, a senior economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Research told municipal analysts meeting here Wednesday

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s appellate tribunal has revised its sanction guidelines, proposing significant increases in the highest level of fines for disciplinary actions and tougher sanctions for cases involving fraud and recommendations of unsuitable investments.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has frequently pursued recent municipal market enforcement actions in federal court rather than in front of its own administrative law judges, where critics have charged that the SEC enjoys a distinct home field advantage.

The annual average length of time between the end of the fiscal year and the date on which audited financial statements were submitted to EMMA was 448 days in 2014, sharply above the average of 342 days in 2013, a Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board report found.

Default rates are far higher for corporates than for munis with the same ratings, a discrepancy regulators are hoping to address with a rule that takes effect June 15.

A bipartisan coalition of House members has introduced legislation that would require federal banking regulators to treat certain municipal securities held by large banks and other financial institutions as high-quality liquid assets

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority faced criticism from House Republicans Friday wondered if the broker-dealer self-regulator is too heavy-handed with small firms.

Rep. Rep. Bill Pascrell, who keeps a Lucite encased drinking water pipe in his office as a reminder of the "very serious and urgent" need, has continued to press for his Sustainable Water Infrastructure Investment Act.

U.S. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli has until May 20 to respond to a request from Miami, Fla.'s former budget director that the Supreme Court hear his argument that he should be shielded from a Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board plans to publish interpretive guidance on its best execution rule no later than July, MSRB chair Kym Arnone said Monday.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has released a study outline for its 100 question multiple-choice municipal advisor representative qualification exam, which will be the first mandatory competency exam for professionals giving bond-related advice to state and local governments.

Participants in municipal bond transactions need to clearly identify, document and disclose potential conflicts of interest in order to avoid potential negative ramifications, the National Federation of Municipal Analysts concluded in a new white paper.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's proposal to require dealers to submit new information through its trade reporting system has some support from the two major industry groups, but one is concerned about possible inefficiency and confusion and the other wants a longer implementation period.

Los Angeles Unified School District officials stand behind their disclosure after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission opened an informal inquiry into the district’s compliance with legal guidelines in the use of bond proceeds to buy iPad tablets.

A network interruption brought down the financial market’s largest inventory management system Friday morning, stifling municipal bond trading on some platforms and highlighting vulnerability of the market to technological failures.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged a New York City-based financial advisor with fraud, saying he stole at least $20 million from customers who were told their money would be invested in municipal bonds when it actually evaporated in riskier trades.

Market participants are concerned and confused about an aspect of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's proposed municipal advisor core conduct rule that some sources are reading as allowing investment banks to provide advisory services on deals they underwrite.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority fined two firms $55,000 for muni trade rule violations and suspended a former broker, as well as fined him to pay $5,000 in fines and ordered him to disgorge $2,837 of ill-gotten gains plus interest, for making unsuitable municipal securities recommendations to clients.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission a proposed rule governing the core conduct of municipal advisors, including their fiduciary duty to put the interests of state and local government clients ahead of their own.