Law and regulation

Though the municipal market has recently been focused on primary market disclosure compliance, dealers should expect the Securities and Exchange Commission to start policing the secondary market just as diligently, former SEC enforcement lawyer Peter Chan told The Bond Buyer.

The Securities and Exchange Commission needs to remove regulatory impediments to the development of electronic trading platforms for the fixed income market and work to avoid a looming “liquidity cliff,” commissioner Daniel Gallagher said Friday.

The Securities and Exchange Commission granted approval Friday of a rule establishing supervisory requirements for municipal advisors, the first new Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board MA rule to get the nod since the SEC's registration regime was adopted last year.

Dealers want the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board to reduce the cost of compliance and to move quickly to finish the municipal advisor rules, while issuers are unsure they want the MSRB's protection.

Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board chair Kym Arnone wants the board to finish the municipal advisor rules and take more steps to improve transparency before the end what she says is the hardest job she has ever loved in a nearly 30-year muni career.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board is proposing to establish limits on the gifts and non-cash benefits municipal advisors can provide in their professional capacities.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board announced Wednesday that it will discuss municipal advisor pay-to-play rulemaking, market transparency enhancement initiatives, and asset-backed securities disclosure when it meets in Alexandria, Va. Oct. 29-31.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board announced on Wednesday that it will be offering a free six-week video series to educate municipal securities investors about fundamental disclosure documents.

Three House members are pushing bank regulators to amend their liquidity rule to include investment grade municipal securities as high-quality liquid assets.

John Cross will leave as director of the SEC's Office of Municipal Securities next month to succeed Vicky Tsilas as the Treasury Department's associate tax legislative counsel, according to the SEC and sources. Tsilas is rejoining Ballard Spahr in January.

Market participants are concerned that language in the Securities and Exchange Commission's proposal to remove references to credit ratings from its Rule 2a-7 governing money market funds could be too restrictive on what securities MMFs could purchase.

The Bond Dealers of America is urging the Securities and Exchange Commission to crack down on non-dealer municipal advisors acting as unlicensed broker-dealers by assisting municipalities in placing their debt through the direct placement markets.

Eight state and local groups are urging federal banking regulators to classify investment-grade munis with demonstrated liquidity as high-quality liquid assets.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's proposal to require dealers to train certain individuals annually on municipal securities issues.

The Securities and Exchange Commission said that new technology and investigative techniques led to a strong fiscal 2014 enforcement year, including municipal bond cases.

Public officials who have traditionally believed that they are safe from Securities and Exchange Commission action if they avoid exchanges of favor should think again in the face of increased SEC focus on anti-corruption efforts, former commission enforcement lawyer Peter Chan said.

Investment grade bonds of issuers and obligors with at least $100 million of securities outstanding should qualify as high-quality liquid assets under federal banking rules, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association told regulators in a just-released letter.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority fined two firms a total of $28,500 for violations of municipal securities rules, including excessive markups and trade reporting failures.

Delivery of the Official Statement satisfies MSRB Rule G-32 - but not the new Time-of-Trade Disclosure Rule, MSRB Rule G-47.

Gary Goldsholle will leave his post as general counsel at the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board after serving just over two years, according to multiple sources.