Municipal disclosure

Muni data is complicated, confusing and unstandardized, and analysts say there's a cost to that. 

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board is seeking input from the public about its preliminary views on clarifying changes to disclosure regulations related to state and local governments under severe financial stress and facing probable dissolution.

Natural disaster disclosure warrants 'a special focus,' NFMA's 2025 chair says.

While the White Lake, Michigan, township hack is the best-known and publicly disclosed cyberattack, there have been others. Some issuers and firms are reluctant to share these experiences publicly.

Belvia Gray, Public Finance Leader at Baker Tilly, talks about the firm's efforts and focus on bringing the industry together on cyber security threats, succession planning and more.

The unpredictable nature of legislating leads most to holding off on disclosure changes until a bill becomes a law.

"It is the first step but that doesn't mean there's a second step," said John Bagley, the MSRB's chief market structure officer.

The comments come after SEC asked for feedback on the collection of information in Rule 15c2-12.

Kim Olsan, senior fixed-income portfolio manager at NewSquare Capital, discusses the municipal market's performance, the impact of rising yields and inflation, and the evolving role of ETFs and separately managed accounts as the market braces for record supply in 2025.

It's hard enough convincing local governments to spend money on cyber insurance that covers ransomware attacks, said Omid Rahmani, public finance cybersecurity lead at Fitch Ratings. The new and very specific threat of a hacked financing process, is "absolutely" underappreciated by the public finance industry.

The NFMA has floated best disclosure practices for public power agencies that ask for more data on climate and resiliency goals.

The increase in the muni market's size, number of novel credits and retail investors suggest it's "finally time" for direct SEC regulation, argue market veterans Kent Hiteshew and David Dubrow.

Market participants warned of the law's potential harm to a market that's famously bespoke and self-regulated.

The city faces no monetary penalty or monitorship in the final judgment in what those involved are calling an unprecedented move for SEC litigation.

The board has requested comment on additional disclosures that state and local governments would need to provide in financial statements but faces a long timeline for implementation.

The agencies are overstepping their statutory authority in trying to force the market to adopt a new securities identifier, says the American Bankers Association.

As extreme weather events occur with more frequency across the country, Michael Gaughan, executive director of the Vermont Bond Bank, says municipal bond banks can help smaller communities deal with the effects of them. Gaughan speaks with The Bond Buyer's Lynne Funk on the effects of climate change and how the various levels of government can work together to address it.

In this episode, Howard Cure, Director of Municipal Bond Research at Evercore Wealth Management, discusses the improving state of public pensions, the ongoing challenges faced by states like New Jersey and Illinois, and the risks associated with pension obligation bonds.

Regulators indicated they may prefer the use of Financial Instrument Global Identifiers for securities.

In May, a bipartisan group of lawmakers sent a letter to the federal agencies responsible for the FDTA rulemaking, urging them to stick to the schedule spelled out in the law.