Municipal disclosure

The consequences of climate change for this island state are broadly evident. So is its official response.

Avoiding even the appearance of representing conflicting interests is important for attorneys and municipal advisors alike.

The Commission’s enforcement results highlight the importance of proper disclosure.

SEC Chairman Gary Gensler focused much of his comments during SIFMA’s Annual Meeting on why he considers himself to be just getting the ball rolling on climate disclosures.

Green bonds and ESG are making it difficult for muni issuers to understand what to disclose and when.

“That's a big loss to me personally and to the commission,” SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce said Wednesday.

Environmental, social and governance factors are gaining importance in the muni industry.

The knock-on effects of COVID-19 are omnipresent, issuers said at the Bond Buyer's virtual California Public Finance Conference. For some government officials, certain changes to how business gets done have been positive.

Seventy-seven percent of respondents to a Bond Buyer survey said there should be universal ESG standards and just over half said ESG is “critical” or “very important." Consensus on how to and who should create such a language is less clear.

While a majority of the industry says ESG matters, a consensus on how to define it for this 50,000-issuer, $4-trillion marketplace is still uncertain.

One size does not fit all.

The firm added Lynn Martin, president of Fixed Income & Data Services at Intercontinental Exchange, Inc., and Joe Geraci, partner at Old Orchard Capital and former Citi executive.

The bill would have required cities, counties and the California Highway Patrol to post the amounts paid, broken down by individual settlement and judgment.

The Securities and Exchange Commission settled with the Sweetwater Union High School District as well as former Chief Financial Officer Karen Michel.

The board decided last month it would seek commission approval to tweak rules related to mandatory disclosures.

NFMA's white paper could serve as a template for future emergency events, in addition to the current pandemic.

Research suggests limited effectiveness of the SEC's rules requiring disclosure of private debt.

Rating agencies are pushing municipal issuers to build online security risks like ransomware attacks into mitigation strategies that include more transparency.

Board says all the objections to disclosure statements are without legal merit or should be addressed at the plan of adjustment confirmation.

Current rules require disclosures to customers who probably do not need them, industry lobbying groups argue.