Law and regulation

Circumstances have changed and a different approach to Puerto Rico debt is warranted.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's proposal to create baseline standards of professional qualification for municipal advisors.

New York City public advocate Letitia James has filed a friend of the court brief in support of the Securities and Exchange Commission's pay-to-play restriction on investment advisers, which is under attack in a lawsuit filed by two state Republican parties last year.

Legislation that would allow government-owned corporations in Puerto Rico to reorganize through Chapter 9 may face an uphill battle after drawing a lukewarm reception from Republicans on a House panel Thursday.

The Federal Reserve is working to identify municipal securities that could be treated as high-quality liquid assets under rules requiring banks to maintain liquidity coverage ratios, Fed chairwoman Janet Yellen told members of a House committee.

Par volume traded for municipal securities was $2.77 trillion in 2014, the lowest volume in over a decade, according to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board fact book released Wednesday.

Conduit issuers and dealers face challenges under the eight month–old municipal advisor registration rule, though most market participants say the new regime is running fairly smoothly.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is still seeking a leader for its Office of Municipal Securities, and is keeping its search open until next month.

Public policy scholar Dall Forsythe will join the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board as a public member to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Robert Fippinger, who is becoming the MSRB's chief legal officer.

Securities and Exchange Commission officials are seeking changes to practices in the municipal market and more stringent actions to enforce rules protecting investors.

Jessica Giroux has been promoted to general counsel of the Bond Dealers of America, assuming the number two position in the middle-market dealer group.

Robert Fippinger, senior counsel at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe and a Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board director since 2010, plans to join the MSRB as its chief legal officer on March 3, the board announced. Michael Post has been promoted to general counsel for regulatory affairs.

Municipal advisors remain concerned about one of the key provisions of the Securities and Exchange Commission's municipal advisor registration rule, although communications between issuers and underwriters remain robust nearly eight months after the final effectiveness of the rule.

Leslie Carey Kirk has joined Siebert Brandford Shank & Co. Washington, D.C.'s office as general counsel for the firm.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has fined two firms $370,000 for violating securities rules in their management of Puerto Rico funds, and dinged another firm $50,000 for violating trade reporting requirements.

Harvey J. Goldschmid, a former Securities and Exchange Commission member who played a key role in getting the American Bar Association to adopt an ethics rule to prevent municipal bond and other pay-to-play practices, died Feb. 12 at the age 74 from complications of pneumonia.

As 2015 begins, capital markets participants would do well to reflect on the lessons of recent Chapter 9 proceedings.

As regulators push for more disclosure of bank loans, there is confusion about the implications for and obligations of dealers, issuers, and municipal advisors.

The cost of complying with the Securities and Exchange Commission's MCDC initiative has been "staggering," an industry representative told the The Bond Buyer's Texas Public Finance Conference.

The suspension of the nation's debt limit expires March 15, with important implications for municipal issuers selling refunding debt during the next several weeks.