Municipal advisors

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board will begin accepting applications for two public and two regulated representatives to join its 15-member board.

The case may turn on whether the SEC’s temporary order is capable of repetition and evading review.

The presence of unregistered — and potentially unqualified — advisors providing municipal advisory services to state and local governments and other municipal entities is a cause for concern and greater regulatory scrutiny.

Officials from multiple regulators came together on Thursday for a detailed discussion about municipal advisory regulation.

Erring on the side of caution and good documentation are key to managing conflicts of interest

The proposed guidance does not indicate any particular problems with compliance, the MSRB said.

A firm and its two principals have been charged for an improper fee-splitting arrangement under the relatively new regulatory regime for municipal advisors.

Making the Federal Reserve's Municipal Liquidity Facility a permanent emergency lending program would be “valuable and forward thinking," Connecticut Treasurer Shawn Wooden told a House subcommittee.

Muni advisors can dialogue with regulators on key obligations from multiple perspectives

The MSRB has announced an extension for municipal bond advisors seeking Series 54 certification, moving the compliance date from to Nov. 30, 2021, from Nov.12.

John Pellici and Yaffa Rattner bring deep public finance experience to Hilltop.

The announcement came after the municipal advisors trade group said it had received a report of COVID-19 exposure at a testing site.

At stake, from SIFMA's perspective, is the potential of the SEC to revive the exemption in the future.

It was a busy quarterly board meeting for the MSRB.

Ed Sisk, a managing director and head of public finance at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, has been MSRB chair since Oct. 1, 2019.

PFM Asset Management will continue to operate as a separate entity. The deal does not affect PFM’s financial advisory business which will continue to operate independently.

Dealers and muni advisors think the loyalties of solicitor MAs should be clearly disclosed.

The board had planned to abolish the requirement that MAs advising on competitive deals apply for CUSIP numbers, but has now decided to keep the rule as is.

The agenda includes discussion of possible changes to MSRB Rule G-10, on investor and municipal advisory client education and protection.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board is requesting comment on requiring more written disclosure from solicitor municipal advisors, which make up just 19% of all MA firms.