Municipal disclosure

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.

Recently, the SEC has focused its attention on disclosures related to artificial intelligence, including the use of machine-learning, generative models or algorithms, blockchain, and other similar emerging automated technologies, warning market participants of the risks associated with "AI-washing."

Investors may want to consider non-disclosure of climate hazards as a symbol of non-resilient projects and limited planning.

"The shortage of accountants is not a brand new-issue, but it seems to be more thematic this year," said Richard Ciccarone, president emeritus of Merritt Research Services.

In its first report since 2017 on municipal issuer disclosure, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board found that the average audit time has risen slightly since 2018 to 209 days, its highest on record.

A pair of muni market experts propose cities and towns borrow through state-based, credit-enhanced bond banks to make the market more efficient.

Like many higher education institutions, the university's financial woes started when enrollment dropped thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The median time for issuers in all municipal bond sectors to produce audited financials rose nearly 10.5% from 2011 to 2022, according to a new report.